Saint Mary Orthodox Church

Fellowship of St. John the Divine

Unity, Missions & Outreach, and Spiritual Renewal

Who are we?

We are a group of adults interested in helping each other, the parish and the wider community through a variety of fellowship, service and educational programs and activities. We welcome single, married, Catechumens, and all other interested members of the St Mary's community as well as other parishes.

What do we do?

Help out at the food pantry at St Paul's RC Church on Saturday mornings in Harvard Square.
Contact: Christian Alcala, cmalcala1989@yahoo.com
Serve at the Open Doors Meal Ministry on Monday nights at Holy Resurrection Church in Allston.
Contact: Elizabeth Tutella, ETutella@sovereignbank.com
Read the Epistle and hold the Communion cloths and bread at Liturgy here at St Mary's.
Contact: Jeff Wasilko, jeffw@smoe.org
Greet and chat with new members and visitors at St Mary's.
Sponsor coffee hours and special meals, such as College Students' Welcome back, Meatfare Sunday, Palm Sunday, and more.
Put away chairs and tables after coffee hours and organize Church clean-up "parties."
Get interesting speakers for our Father John vonHolzhausen lecture series.
Coordinate Wednesday evening potluck suppers after Pre-Sanctified Liturgies during Lent.
Decorate the Church hall for our Christmas Lessons and Carols evening - Saturday December 8th this year.
Learn more about Orthodoxy at the Footlamps lecture series.

Planned and potential future projects and events include:

Coffee House with musical performances, readings, and fellowship here at St Mary's.
Book club and/or Bible study groups with special lectures and/or discussion leaders.
Pan-Orthodox Social Networking nights out at local billiard clubs and other venues.
Collecting and managing donations of clothing and food to distribute to worthy organizations in support of other ministries at St Mary's.
Helping out with local organizations such as http://www.bostoncares.org/

Contacts for more information and to join us:

We need more members to make new ideas reality and to keep our current activities effective!

Fellowship email: stmaryfellowship@bigfoot.com
Tiffany Conroy: trattus1@gmail.com
Facebook: search for Fellowship of St John the Divine
Diocese of Worcester: http://www.worcesterdiocese.net
Footlamps Monthly Workshop Series: http://www.antiochian.org/footlamps
NAC Fellowship: http://www.antiochian.org/fellowship/

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To receive weekly E-MAIL updates of the activities and service schedule of St. Mary's, you may request to be added to our notification list. This list is sponsored and maintained by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine at St. Mary's.

The Parish Ministry Team Program

And say to Archippus, "See that you fulfill the ministry which
you have received in the Lord" (Colossians 4:17).

What is a "Parish Ministry Team"?

A Parish Ministry Team (PMT) is a group of volunteers within a parish that is dedicated to serving Christ by assisting the pastor in ministering to the needs of the parish and larger community. Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. By His works, He has provided us with numerous examples and directives of how to love and serve. It is through our active participation on a PMT that we are "doers of the word and not hearers only" (James 1:22)

An essential element of this volunteer program is the motivation for doing it! As Christ has reached out to us, we must reach out to each other in love. Since we are created in the likeness and image of God, we are then created in and by His love. It is through His love that we move out of ourselves and toward each other. For "we are God's fellow workers" (1Cor. 3:9). All of us
are encouraged to use our God-given talents in His service.

The Goal of the Program: Total Parish Involvement.

The goal of the Fellowship's "Parish Ministry Team" program is Total Parish Involvement. St. Paul teaches us that "there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1Cor12:4-7).

Parish Ministry Teams are in no way intended to replace already existing organizations within the parish - these too have their specific mission. Rather, PMTs are intended to bring parishioners together from throughout the parish and develop a common ministry through the sharing of their gifts. PMTs will allow parishioners of all ages to come together in a common focus.

Each of us has a special God-given gift and each of us is called to serve. As Metropolitan PHILIP has stated, "Let us not waste our time in idle talk. Let us each see to our own ministries for the edification of the Church and in so doing glorify the Lord." Within the Parish Ministry Team, these different gifts of the Spirit are realized for the common good. "But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be servant to all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:43-45).

The Spirit enables us to live the Orthodox Faith in Christ through Worship, Witness, Service and Fellowship.

2010 - St. Mary Orthodox Church - Cambridge, MA