St. Mary’s to hold annual fair

ORANGE — Plans are underway for St. Mary’s annual fair, set for Saturday, Oct. 12.

Doors open at 9 a.m. Beef stew and homemade pie will be served beginning at 11 a.m. and sandwiches, chips, pastries and drinks will be available all morning.

Raffle winners will be drawn beginning at 2 p.m. At least 50 prizes will be available. There’s also a Cash and Scratch raffle, offering prizes of $100 cash, $100 value in Lottery tickets and $50 cash. Additionally, there is an opportunity to win one or more restaurant gift certificates for eateries from Ware to Greenfield.

Vendors will be selling handmade goods ranging from pot holders and mitten sets to reversible kitchen aprons and reversible tote bags. Baked goods from cookies to whoopie pies will be for sale along with popcorn and ice cream, and garden produce and jelly will be available.

A large selection of used books will be available in the entryway, and the back wall will be lined with dozens of gently used jigsaw puzzles. Cemetery and decorative boxes for fall and winter will be offered along with fall wreaths in the entryway.

Proceeds from the annual fair benefit the club, the parish and the town. Scholarships, holiday lighting, rectory and parish center renovations, and more have been funded using money raised at past fairs.

St. Mary’s gets new priest

ORANGE — The Rev. Mark Glover is the new priest at St. Mary’s Parish in Orange following the retirement of the Rev. Shaun O’Connor.

Glover, a Hampden native, most recently served as a chaplain and counselor at the Hampden County Jail and House of Correction in Ludlow. Before that, he spent eight years as pastor at St. Catherine of Siena in Springfield. He attended Elms College in Chicopee and then went through the seminary at Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy.

Glover hopes to lead the Orange parish and community in learning about, honoring and worshiping Jesus. He would like residents to step forth and share their talents to help him make St. Mary’s run more smoothly and be a vibrant, responsive resource for the community.

As the pastor at St. Mary’s, he is also the spiritual advisor to St. Mary’s 102-year-old Women’s Club and the Knights of Columbus.