Church of the Sacred Heart, South Plainfield, N.J.: Parish Organizations and Service Groups Responding to the Evolving Community and Cultural Needs

The Archives of the Church of the Sacred Heart, South Plainfield, New Jersey is a professionally curated and processed collection documenting over 110 years of parish history and service to the community. The collection consists of approximately 90 linear feet of documents, blueprints, maps, photographs, mixed media and ephemera, with inclusive dates from 1901 to 2021, with the bulk of the collection from 1950 -2021.

The collection is maintained on an ongoing basis and made available to parishioners and researchers.

In the 100-plus years since Sacred Heart Church was established, parish groups and organizations have served the Sacred Heart community, the Borough of South Plainfield and beyond, through their works of service, charity and prayer, in responding to the needs of the times. As society and societal realities have changed over the years, Sacred Heart has responded, in part, through their parish organizations and service groups.

Some organizations have come and gone, like the Holy Name Society, which began in the 1920’s or the Lady’s Sodality of the 1930’s. Others remain, namely the Rosary Altar Society, and new groups have come into existence such as the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (In God’s Image – GLBT) faith sharing group, the Charismatic Prayer Group, and God’s Special People – an outreach of volunteers helping to meet the spiritual needs of the mentally disabled.

This archival collection contains evidentiary documentation of the parish’s rich history of service to its diverse communities and serves as a model for preserving such histories.

Pope John XXIII’s aim in calling for the Second Vatican Council was for the Church to become a more accessible and approachable place that embraced the unity of humanity in its very diversity. Sacred Heart’s evolving groups and organizations are a testimony to the success of the Council’s vision.