Saint Mary Parish

Ministries

Saint Mary Parish is alive with a rich array of ministries. We welcome and encourage active participation in our parish life.

Liturgy Committee: St. Mary's Liturgy Committee meets to help decide how to best prepare the parish liturgies for the upcoming liturgical season and to explore the best ways to recruit and train ministers and carry out liturgical ministries. Please contact Laurene Hirko if you are interested in joining this ministry at .

Altar Servers: St. Mary's Altar Servers, young people in grades 4 and higher, serve at the altar during Mass. Training sessions are usually held once a year. This is one of the numerous ways in which our young people are invited to commit themselves to serving the parish. Please contact Fr. Steven LaBaire or Annette Gion if you are interested in becoming an altar server at slabaire (at) stmaryuxbridge.org or .

Eucharistic Ministers: Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist assist in the distribution of the Body and Blood of our Lord at all Masses, as well as at funerals and some weddings. Eucharistic Ministers are confirmed, practicing Catholics who may also bring communion to the sick, homebound, and to those in nursing homes. New Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers are trained once a year. If you are interested in becoming an Extraordinary Minister, please contact Fr. Steven LaBaire at .

Lectors: Lectors are trained to proclaim the Word of God at parish liturgies and to recognize that they are proclaiming the Word of God in our midst. Lectors prepare the readings before coming to Mass each week. Training is available and required for all persons in this ministry. If you are interested in becoming a Lector please contact Sheila Curran at St. Mary Parish at .

Marriage Preparation: Marriage preparation at St. Mary's is done primarily through Couple-To-Couple Ministry, and we are blessed with five couples that have completed extensive training for this ministry. They meet several times with engaged couples to talk about the Sacrament of Marriage, especially as they have experienced it in their married lives, and to review the FOCCUS marriage survey. Couples may also choose to attend an Engaged Encounter weekend instead of the Couple-To-Couple process. If you are interested in this ministry please contact Fr. Steven LaBaire at .

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: The RCIA team provides for a process of full initiation to meet the needs of men, women and older children who are not baptized, or baptized in the Roman Catholic Church but who have not received Sacraments of Eucharist and/or Confirmation, or baptized in another Christian church that wish to join the Catholic Church. If you are interested in RCIA, please contact Dwain Robbins at drobbins41 @ charter.net .

Music Ministry

St. Mary's is blessed to have many people willing to share their musical gifts and talents with the parish. Music Ministry here at St. Mary's takes various forms.

Cantors lead the congregation at the 5:00pm and 7:30am Masses.
The 9:00am Mass Folk Group leads the congregation with guitars, flutes, keyboard and choir.
The 11:00 Mass Choir leads the congregation with organ and choir.
Junior cantors are being trained to lead the congregation in the psalm at the 9:00 Mass.
A student orchestra offers Christmas Music prior to the beginning of the early Christmas Eve Mass.
Seasonal children's choirs gather for Christmas, Easter, and sometimes other major feasts.
Combined ministries often minister together for major parish feasts, events, and sacramental celebrations.
Combined ministries often minister together for major parish feasts, events, and sacramental celebrations.

If you are interested in joining any of the choirs, please contact Dan Zabinski for more information at .

Christmas Pageant: The Christmas Pageant begins the celebration of the birth of Our Lord every year at 4:00pm on December 24 with an instrumental program. The Pageant begins with the children's re-enacting the story of the birth of Jesus. Children in grades 1 and up are welcome to join us. Many of our parish children participate as cast members, singing in the angel choir, playing instruments, and doing liturgical dance as our angels. We are blessed with many adults who supervise this wonderful undertaking by helping in the preparation of costumes, the program, and in directing the pageant and the chorus. Please contact Joan Remillard at .

Prayer Chain: St. Mary's prayer chain consists of members of our parish community who give of their time to pray for the needs of others. We currently have 3 "chains". When we receive a prayer request, we call the heads of the chains and then they call the next name on their list, and that person calls the next, etc. Please call Donna Featherstone if you are interested in joining our prayer chain at 508-278-3777 or .

Women's Annual Retreat: Each fall, approximately 40-50 women in the parish attend a women's retreat at a retreat house here in New England. This retreat allows women to relax with God and one another, and find renewal and refreshment through prayer, reflection with a retreat leader, Mass, and sharing. If you are interested in attending a women's retreat please contact Kim Adam at .

Playgroup: St. Mary's playgroup for children and their parents from birth to age 5, meets on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00am in the parish center. It is an informal opportunity and a very enjoyable way to get to know other Moms/Dads in the parish and to find support in your parenting, while your children play and socialize with other children. If you are interested in attending the playgroup, please contact Patti Kane at .

Camp Sunshine: Camp Sunshine is a retreat for critically ill children and their families. The program includes children under active treatment for cancer, kidney disease, lupus, diabetes, brain tumors, solid organ transplants and other life threatening illnesses. Youth and adults do fundraising to support this program and volunteer one week during the summer helping as leaders in recreation, providing child-care, food service, housekeeping maintenance, and waterfront activities to all different age levels from nursery to adolescents. This experience is open to adults, young adults, and teens aged 16 years or older. Adult volunteers are needed as chaperones and drivers for the one-week retreat. Please contact Annette Gion at .

Altar Sodality of Saint Mary Parish: The Altar Sodality is a ministry of parishioners who care for the vessels, vestments, and paraments used at Mass and at other liturgies. Sodality members assure that altar supplies are stocked and the sanctuary prepared for certain liturgies. If you would like to join this ministry please contact Una Rice at .

Children's Liturgy of the Word: The Children's Liturgy of the Word Ministry prepares and celebrates a brief service of the word in the parish center for children in grades 1-6 during the 9:00am Mass. Usually, the children are dismissed after the opening hymn of the mass, accompanied by adults to the parish center. There they listen to scripture, pray, sing, and reflect in a way appropriate to their age group. They return to their parents during the preparation of the gifts (offertory). Adults are always needed to help plan, offer a reflection, read the scripture, and sing with the children. If you are interested in joining this ministry, please contact Annette Gion at .

Funeral Ministry: Mass Servers and Lectors
This is a ministry of adults who volunteer their time to serve at funeral Masses. Some proclaim the readings while others assist as Mass servers and as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion during the liturgy. The servers assist in teams and are scheduled periodically. Their presence expresses our prayerful solidarity with those mourning the death of a loved one. Anyone interested in joining this ministry, please contact Una Rice at .; Funeral Choir
The funeral choir leads the singing at funerals here at Saint Mary's. It is open to any parishioner who is willing to lend his or her voice in song. There is a modest repertoire of hymns and sacred songs. The choir usually rehearses prior to the funeral liturgy. If you interested in joining this ministry, please contact Daniel Zabinski at .

Parish Council: The Parish Pastoral Council is a group of adult parishioners who listen to the concerns of the wider parish and advise the pastor on issues pertaining to our life as a parish together. The council meets monthly. If you are interested please contact Lanny Remillard at .

Ministry to the Sick and Homebound: This ministry is one of hospitality and compassion. It entails visiting parishioners who are unable to leave their homes. The ministers arrange a weekly or monthly visiting schedule and bring Holy Communion to the person. If you are interested in joining this ministry please contact Mary Rice through the parish office at .

Morningstar Ministry: The Morningstar Ministry is a ministry to bereaved families. Members provide a collation (light lunch) to families and other mourners after a funeral liturgy. Often, families have no appropriate place to meet. The Morningstar Ministry provides a warm friendly place for mourners to gather. The work of the ministry primarily involves setting up for the lunch and serving the guests. If you are interested in joining this ministry, please contact Diane Moriarty at .

St. Vincent de Paul Society: The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is an association of Catholic men and women working to help the poor and promoting human dignity. Founded in France by Blessed Frederic Ozanam (1813-1853), the society today counts 700,000 volunteer members throughout the world. Here at Saint Mary's, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society is active in feeding the hungry, visiting the elderly, and providing temporary relief (housing, utilities, medical) to the needy of our area. For more information contact Stephen Abate at or Lanny Remillard at .