Getting to know Our Parish

About the Pastor

REV. O. ROBERT DEMARTINIS, a native of Amsterdam, served in Florida before returning to the Albany Diocese in 1990. He was an associate pastor at St. Luke's parish in Schenectady and Our Lady of the Annunciation in Queensbury; pastor of Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Frankfort and, for 10 years, at Immaculate Conception in Schenectady; and chaplain for Glens Falls Hospital.

He was appointed pastor of St. Stanislaus parish in Amsterdam in 2010 and appointed pastor of St. Stephen's Church in Hagaman, NY in July of 2012.

My philosophy of my priesthood is contained in the prayer that I carry with me:

'My brothers and sisters, accept us as we are: men, who like you need the mercy of God; poor men, weak, sinful, with faults and limited talents. Though we are the men called by God...we too grope through the darkness of the world. All we can do is travel with you into the light of God, our Father....Pray for us. Have patience with us. Carry us. Accept God's word and His holy mysteries from us.'

I hope that the joy and fulfillment I receive from my vocation is apparent to all people with whom I come in contact, and that this joy can be an inspiration to other men considering the priesthood.

Parish Staff

Rev. O. Robert DeMartinis

Pastor

Deacon Michael Ryba

Director of Administration and Finance

Dolores Dybas, M.A.

Parish Secretary

Diane Madej

Faith Formation Coordinator

Alice Sorenson

Director of Music

Business Hours

9AM - 1PM

Monday - Friday

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Councils & Committees

TRUSTEES

Trustees are required by civil law and are members along with the Bishop, Vicar General, and Pastor constitute the officers of the Parish Corporation. They must approve and sign the annual parish budget and any other legal actions the parish may choose to enact.

FINANCE COUNCIL

The Finance Council is a consultative body required by Canon Law. It monitors, evaluates and formulates policies, guidelines and procedures for data management, maintenance and repair of facilities, and fiscal matters, including the annual budgets.

BUILDINGS & GROUNDS COMMITTEE

The Building and Grounds Committee was established to oversee the condition and preventative maintenance of the parish and cemetery buildings and grounds. They work in collaboration with the Administrator and the Finance Council.

Social Outreach

Food Pantry
Grocery items and cash are collected at all entrances to the church on an ongoing basis. The monetary and grocery items are delivered to Fulton-Montgomery Catholic Charities to help respond to the needs of area families. Each dollar donated to the Food Pantry can purchase eight dollars of food and groceries for distribution.

Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone is an interfaith project administered by Trinity Lutheran Church and supported by a number of churches in the Amsterdam area. Donations are collected throughout the year for distribution to needy families in the area. Contributions always needed are: paper goods (paper towels, tissues, bath tissue, etc.), bar soap, and personal care items (shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.). Special collections are taken for Christmas, Easter, and the start of the school year.

Cemeteries

St. Stanislaus’ Cemetery
The St. Stanislaus Cemetery is located on Upper Steadwell Avenue in Amsterdam, NY.

Holy Cross Memorial Columbarium at

St Stanislaus Cemetery

The Holy Cross Memorial Columbarium is located on a hilltop at St. Stanislaus Cemetery in an area immediately adjacent to Steadwell Ave. The initial design comprises two curved structures, one on each side of a large granite cross, each containing 25 niches. Each niche may hold up to two urns; each urn containing the cremains of one person.

St. John's Cemetery
St. John’s Cemetery is located on Widow Susan Road just south of Rt. 67 East.

Holy Names Society

The Holy Name Society of St. Stanislaus Parish was founded in 1955. It is an active organization of men that meets in the Parish Hall on the 2nd Sunday of each month between September and June before the 10:00 a.m. Mass. All men of the parish who have reached the age of 18 are invited to join the organization.

The Holy Name Society holds several corporate communion breakfasts each year when the members come together to as a body to participate in Sunday mass and then enjoy a breakfast in the Church Hall. There is also an annual city-wide corporate communion gathering; planning for and location of the gathering is rotated among the participating societies in the city.

One of the most important and community-building activities is the baking of bread for the Annual Holy Name Bake sale held on Palm Sunday weekends. Members of the society gather in the church hall kitchen and bake babka bread and a specialty grain bread; several teams of members work through the day and night to bake an average of 750 loaves of bread to sell at the bake sale!

This local group is a part of and follows the by-laws of the National Association of the Holy Name Society that is dedicated to the spiritual formation of its members.

The essential obligation of the Holy Name member can be summed up in the phrase of the Our Father, “Hallowed Be Thy Name.”

Thus:

The member should avoid disrespect to the name of God, Jesus, and of what is sacred . . .,
The member should, as far as prudent, induce others to refrain from such insults,
The member should praise and glorify God by fidelity to prayer,
The member should … bring others to know and honor the name of God,
The member should avoid any conduct that would cause or tempt others to ridicule or despise their Catholicity or the Holy Name Society…,
The member should fulfill all the obligations of membership in the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church, according to one’s state in life….

Rosary Society

The Ladies’ Rosary Society was established September 25, 1892 with the purpose to promote and spread honor and devotion to the Blessed Mother through praying the rosary privately and publicly; and to provide assistance to the parish and others as needed.

Members…

lead the praying of the rosary before Eucharist on Sunday and its Vigil.
are a part of a 15 member group with the responsibility for reciting one decade of the rosary daily.
during the month of October participate in the local Rosary Rally held in Amsterdam and provide flowers for the Virgin’s altar.
pray the rosary at the wake of deceased members.
host an annual Easter Dinner (Swięconka) on an appropriate Sunday in April and a Christmas dinner on the second Sunday in January. These serve as fundraisers for the Society.
are a helping hand to the parish through annual donations to meet fuel costs, the Bishop’s Appeal and other needs as requested.
support parish functions by the preparation of food for receptions and other gatherings.

Membership…

…is open to all women parishioners who have reached the age of 21.
Meetings are held every 2nd Sunday of the month, September through June, at 2PM in the Church Hall.
Annual membership dues are $10.00.

Pierogi Angels

The Pierogi Angels are a group of dedicated women and men who provide their time and talent several times during the year to support the parish’s fund raising efforts which in turn enable the parish to continue to support the spiritual and pastoral needs of its parishioners.

This group prepares the ingredients and assembles pierogi and golumbki to provide Polish food for the St. Stanislaus Parish Festival each summer and makes pierogi for a November Pierogi Sale.

In June they meet for several days each week for several weeks to prepare cabbage and potato-cheese pierogi for the parish festival. Then in July they meet immediately before the Festival to prepare the golumbki to serve.

Once again they meet in early fall for several days each week to prepare pierogi that will be sold as an important fundraiser in November.