Where are they now? A Walk in the Twilight Zone with Jim Verrecchia and Jim Haley

Jim & Nancy Lambert in happier days.

In 1998, a scandal boiled at All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, VA. The pastor, Fr. Jim Verrecchia was giving "spiritual" direction to a parishioner, Nancy Lambert, who spent more and more time with him. They walked, they danced at church functions, they hot-tubbed and nuzzled together in full view of the entire parish. Meanwhile, Nancy's husband, Jim, became more and more concerned, confronted the pastor, and tried to convince his wife to stop, if not for him, for the sake of their four children. The behavior of the two "lovebirds" grew so egregious and so open it made the pages of the Washington Post and the Washington Times particularly after Jim Lambert, the aggrieved husband, sued the diocese which aided and abetted the adultery. To make a long story short: Nancy got pregnant, divorced her husband, married Verrecchia, and, with the help of Fr. Steve Leva, who testified for the adulterers at the custody hearing, got the couple's four children. Jim Lambert got a heart attack.

Mary's Month of May and a First Communion

I love May! Not only because it's the month of Mary for whom I was named, but because it's also the month of First Communion and Ordination, two sacraments essential to the life of the faithful. Today one of our grandchildren made his First Communion at All Saints in Manassas. It was our first time in the new church and I was so pleased to see how beautiful it is. It replaces one of the "ugly as sin" churches from the post Vatican II era.

The first thing I noticed was how bright it is with lots of windows unlike some of the dismal churches in the diocese (Holy Spirit comes to mind). The beautiful tabernacle is returned to its proper place in the center of the sanctuary unlike its placement in a separate room in the old church. (The old tabernacle was truly ugly as well. Jesus is honored much more in His new home.) A beautiful crucifix replaces the awful painting that hung in the old church. (Thank God!)


But the feature that struck me the most was the altar. The wood is stained a beautiful warm brown and there are crosses the same color on a square, cream-colored background on the corners of the top. In the center on the base is another larger cross on the same cream background. The three crosses gave me an impression of the door and windows of a house, especially because the altar top is gabled on the bottom creating the idea of a roof, unusual and very striking.

When Father spoke in his sermon about the Eucharist bringing heaven down to earth, I thought about the image of the altar as the entrance into our heavenly home. "Of course, the Eucharist is the door to heaven and the altar is both the altar of sacrifice and the center of our Catholic family just like the table in our own homes is the center for family gatherings and celebrations.

The parish has a wonderful photo collection from the dedication of the church that shows all the features I'm talking about. Take a Sunday stroll to All Saints either virtually or for real and rejoice at this wonderful knew "house of God" honoring Our Lord. And a big thank you to all involved in its design and construction.