{"id":427521,"date":"2026-08-08T18:46:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/427521\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:46:19","slug":"long-beach-priest-begins-new-leadership-role-in-lynbrook-herald-community-newspapers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/427521\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach priest begins new leadership role in Lynbrook | Herald Community Newspapers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe beach Mass,\u201d the Rev. Steven McClernon<\/a> said quickly, when asked about one of the highlights of his time serving at Beach Catholic in Long Beach. \u201cI loved my time in Long Beach. It\u2019s a great place.\u201d The outdoor Sunday evening service is an annual highlight each summer, with worshippers gathering in the sands of Ocean Beach Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just over one month ago, the 34-year-old McClernon began his next chapter, moving to Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church<\/a> in Lynbrook, taking on his first leadership role after serving as an associate pastor at the parishes of Beach Catholic for three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

McClernon, a Holbrook native, didn\u2019t enter the seminary immediately after graduating Sachem North High School. After earning his college degree, he spent two years teaching at Connetquot school district and Eastern Suffolk BOCES before entering the seminary in 2016. He completed his studies in Douglaston, Queens, and Yonkers before serving six months as a deacon at St. William the Abbot in Seaford, one of the required steps before becoming a priest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2023, McClernon was ordained at the Diocese of Rockville Centre. His first assignment brought him to Long Beach, where he quickly immersed himself in parish life. In addition to celebrating Mass, McClernon trained altar servers, coached students at Long Beach Catholic School and became a familiar face at parish events, from the annual summer dance to the Christmas tree lighting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This summer, The Most Rev. John Barres of the Diocese assigned McClernon to Our Lady of Peace after the semi-retirement of the parish\u2019s longtime pastor, Richard \u201cFather Rick\u201d Stelter. Although becoming a pastor after only three years as a priest is relatively uncommon, McClernon said priests go where they are needed. At Our Lady of Peace, McClernon now oversees the parish with the assistance of Deacon Kevin McCormack and other associates. McClernon emphasized that the Church\u2019s mission remains constant regardless of location.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One Bible passage that continues to shape his ministry is Romans 12:4, which describes the Church as being one body with many members, each contributing unique gifts. \u201cDifferent gifts, one Church, one body.,\u201d McClernon said. \u201cGod made us all different with different gifts and abilities, and when I see people using them, it\u2019s inspiring. That verse, I\u2019ve always loved because it talks about the uniqueness of everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pastoral assignments are typically six years, McClernon explained, but can change as the needs of the Diocese evolve. As he settles into his new parish and prepares to welcome students back to school this fall, McClernon said he\u2019ll always be grateful for the community that helped shape his first years as a priest. \u201cI loved my time in Long Beach,\u201d he reiterated. \u201cIt was a great place to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe beach Mass,\u201d the Rev. Steven McClernon said quickly, when asked about one of the highlights of his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[170011,170012,170009,131,77728,133,132,170010],"class_list":["post-427521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-beach-catholic-long-beach","tag-diocese-of-rockville-centre","tag-father-steven-mcclernon","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-catholic-church","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-our-lady-of-peace-lynbrook"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}