New Church

Two weeks after announcing the painful consolidation of 24 parishes into 10, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had something to celebrate Saturday in Chester County. St. Joseph parish in Downingtown, the second-largest in the archdiocese, with 4,400 families and more than 14,500 parishioners, opened a new $9.6 million church with a rite of solemn dedication by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput. The new church on Manor Avenue, with seating for 1,200, incorporated stained-glass windows from closed Philadelphia churches.

The last Mass ever to be held in the old St. John Bosco Roman Catholic Church in Warminster had just finished, leaving only empty pews and many happy memories of its 36-year history. Sunday morning, as the organist played "Alleluia! Sing to Jesus" on the small Wurlitzer organ at the rear of the church, several parishioners stopped to look back with tears of sadness. Others, however, were in a hurry to rush over next door to the new 18,000- square-foot church building, which was to be dedicated at the 11:15 a.m. Mass by Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, archbishop of Philadelphia, in his first official appearance since returning from Rome for his elevation to cardinal.

Academy of the New Church coach Scott Daum was missing two starters for a nonleague game against host Moorestown Friends on Friday. But it is doubtful whether senior guard Dave Closterman (charley horse) and sophomore guard Steve Viscalla (sprained ankle) would have made a difference. "They were quicker, faster and stronger than us," Daum said after the host team pummeled the Lions, 88-32. "We just weren't able to keep up with them. " Junior forward Jason Reuter scored 12 points to lead the Lions (1-3)

The West Goshen Zoning Hearing Board has held a public discussion about whether to allow the Christ Community Church of West Chester to build a new church on 34 acres on Phoenixville Pike near Greenhill Road. At a meeting Tuesday night, the three-member board discussed the church's request for a special exception to the residential zoning in the area. The church also has sought a variance from conditions of the zoning ordinance requiring public water and sewer service for such a facility.

The Rev. Maximino Cotto's boiler at home blew this month, singeing his eyebrows. Then his car broke down. But the worst part of his month came Friday night when the church he oversees in Camden, Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal (Pentecostal Church of God), burned. The congregation had just purchased the historic church, the former home of Rosedale Baptist Church, on Oct. 1. It spent about $10,000 and hundreds of volunteer hours fixing the building the last few weeks. It had held only one regular service, on Oct. 17, before the blaze.

When the Rev. Ralph Petersen told his daughter, Julianne, that he was moving to a new Lutheran church in the Oxford area, she asked what its name was. He couldn't tell her. Nor could he tell her exactly where it would be. That's because Mr. Petersen, pastor of Advent Lutheran Church in Westtown for the last 22 years, is establishing a mission church, the first step in starting a new congregation. "We don't have a name or a place to meet yet, so she wasn't quite sure what I was getting into," said Mr. Petersen, who came to Advent three years after it began as a mission church and watched it grow to a membership of 1,050.

Today we celebrate with joy. Our years of planning and waiting are complete. Our dreams have come true. That refrain, composed by a parishioner and sung to the calypso cadence of two 12-string guitars, seemed to sum up the feelings of many of the members of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish last weekend as their new church was dedicated. The time-honored ceremony, which may be performed only by a bishop, is solemn, joyous and replete with Christian symbolism. Bishop James T. McHugh, who heads the Diocese of Camden, described the rite as "one of the most important things a bishop can do, second only to ordaining priests.

Two weeks after announcing the painful consolidation of 24 parishes into 10, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had something to celebrate Saturday in Chester County. St. Joseph parish in Downingtown, the second-largest in the archdiocese, with 4,400 families and more than 14,500 parishioners, opened a new $9.6 million church with a rite of solemn dedication by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput. The new church on Manor Avenue, with seating for 1,200, incorporated stained-glass windows from closed Philadelphia churches.

Baseball CATHOLIC PRELIMINARY ROUND Cardinal O'Hara 6, Lansdale Catholic 5 Father Judge 11, Archbishop Carroll 4 PENN-JERSEY PLAYOFF SEMIFINALS Barrack Hebrew 11, Solebury School 7 PUBLIC LEAGUE AA FIRST ROUND Mariana Bracetti 18, Roxborough 8 MaST Charter 12, Phila. Academy Charter 2 Esperanza 15, University City 0 PUBLIC LEAGUE AAA FIRST ROUND Swenson 3, Bodine 2 Phila. Electrical 8, Boys' Latin 7 Ben Franklin 14, Engineering & Science 2 PUBLIC LEAGUE AAAA FIRST ROUND Frankford 4, Edison 3 Washington 9, Furness 5 Northeast 3, Lincoln 1 Olney 6, Central 4 CENTRAL LEAGUE Penncrest 5, Upper Darby 2 Conestoga 9, Haverford High 3 Radnor 6, Springfield (D)

These are some of the top scorers and three-point shooters in Southeastern Pennsylvania girls' basketball. Statistics are through Tuesday. Scoring Name   School   Gms.   Pts.   Avg.    Gia DeAngelo   Sun Valley   22   467   21.2    Nina Mazzarelli   W.C. East   22   434   19.7    M. Conyers-Jordan   Friends' Central   12   235   19.6    Megan McGurk   Notre Dame   24   453   18.9    Alyssa Monaghan   Bonner-Prend.   22   400   18.1    Emma Dorshimer   Jenkintown   23   410   17.8    Kathleen Fitzpatrick   Notre Dame   24   419   17.5    Lauren Gold   Abington Friends   26   452   17.4    Kayla Feairheller   Downingtown W.   24   409   17.