LEWISTOWN — The Rev. Fr. Jayaseelan Amalanathan will say good-bye to his congregations later this month as he has been appointed to Saint Theresa Parish in New Cumberland.

Amalanathan, also known locally as Fr. Jay, has served as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart and St. Jude Church, Mifflintown, since 2017 when he was invited to serve by the Rev. Fr. William Weary.

His last day will be June 21.

“I would have been elsewhere if Bill did not invite me, maybe Harrisburg, so I was lucky and I’ve enjoyed my time here and will miss it,” he said.

Fr. Jay has been a regular contributor to The Sentinel’s Religion page during his time in Lewistown, regularly writing sermons for publication.

He said writing for The Sentinel has opened up doors for him.

“I read an article and got inspired to starting writing into The Sentinel and since I have written about 25 articles. At J P Edwards someone once stopped and asked if I was the pastor writing into The Sentinel, and that’s how The Sentinel opened me up to the community outside of the Catholics,” he said.

Originally from Chennai, South India, Amalanathan says Lewistown is the only hometown he has ever had in the United States.

“This is my hometown — this is my America. I don’t know any other parish except here and I love this place — the mountains, everything. I have been kayaking and I love it, I love water, see back in India, we do not have running water and have only three seasons: hot, hotter and hottest. Here, we have autumn, spring, summer and winter and I love to see the snow. I never get tired of it,” he said.

Fr. Jay said he is excited about his move to the New Cumberland parish, but he will miss Lewistown and hopes to stay in touch.

“I will miss the family atmosphere. People treat me like their own family members. The people here are good; they accept me and love me and I too love them.”

According to a news release from the Diocese of Harrisburg, clergy are selected to fill positions based on the needs of parishes based on local needs, skills, experience, availability and health.

Priests within the Diocese of Harrisburg can be reassigned for a number of reasons, including requests from the clergy members, an opening due to a retirement or death, or a clergy member has the skills and talents that are considered a good match for a specific ministry.