St. Mary Parish of Belleville, Illinois Organizations

		Parish Organizations
			Saint Mary Catholic Church Belleville, Illinois

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	Pastoral Council
	Liturgical
	Outreach
	Social
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Contact Us

St. Mary has many active organizations and activities that enhance our Catholic community. We welcome new participants in each of these organizations. See our Contact Us page or phone our Rectory for more information.

Pastoral Council

The Pastoral Council provides counsel to the pastor in area of pastoral activities by helping him identify the needs of the parish, develop programs and services and evaluate the effectiveness thereof.

The pastoral activities include:
- Continuing to develop a liturgy that celebrates the Lord's presence in the parish family.
- Fostering lifelong faith formation
- Extending a spirit of hospitality and service to all.
- Encouraging shared responsibility and enabling members to share gifts of time, treasure and talent.

Meets on the 3rd Thursday at 7:00PM

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Liturgical Organizations

Liturgy Committee

The Liturgy committee coordinates the many aspects of our worship services. This includes the activities of eucharistic ministers, lectors, ministers of hospitality, ushers, servers, music and decorating.

Meets on the 2nd Thursday at 7:00PM

Eucharistic Ministers

Eucharistic Ministers serve during Masses by distributing the Body and Blood of Christ. These ministers also take Holy Communion to the sick and homebound members of our parish.

An initial orientation and an annual refresher training are required.

Readers

Our parish readers participate in the Mass by delivering the scripture readings during the Liturgy of the Word.

An initial orientation and an annual refresher are required.

Ministers of Hospitality

Ministers of Hospitality greet new members to our parish. They also provide welcoming at our Masses.

Ushers

Our ushers help prepare the church for worship, help seat parishioners, and assist with the Offertory collection.

Adult Servers

Adult altar servers customarily serve for our Saturday evening Mass.

Children Servers

Young men and women are altar servers for daily and Sunday Masses.

Training for children to be servers is scheduled by contacting the Rectory.

Art and Environment

The Art and Environment committee is part of the Liturgy committee. Committee members decorate the altar and church to reflect the theme of the season.

Homebound Eucharistic Visits

We have an active program to visit our parishioners that are in nursing homes or are homebound. Our visits are intended to meet the continuing spiritual needs of parishioners who are no longer able to attend Mass and other events.

Homebound visits can be arranged by contacting the Rectory.

Music Program

St. Mary has an active music program that complements our other liturgical celebrations. The music program includes an adult choir, children's choir, and orchestra. All parishioners of school age or older are welcome to participate in some area of the music program.

Musical groups usually practice on Tuesday evenings. Contact the parish Music Director through the Rectory for information on specific groups.

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Outreach Organizations

St. Vincent de Paul

Our St. Vincent de Paul Society provides food, shelter, medical or other assistance for those in need.

Scouting Programs

St. Mary sponsors active scouting activities for boys and girls. Girls may join one of our Daisies, Brownies, or Girl Scout groups. Boys' groups include Tiger Cubs, Cubs, Weeblos, or Boy Scouts.

Ladies Sodality

The Our Lady of Good Counsel Sodality supports service projects for our parish and is also a social organization open to all women in the parish. The Sodality holds several fund raising projects annually that benefit ongoing needs of our parish. They also meet monthly for a luncheon and business meeting.

Meetings are held September through May on the second Tuesday of the month at noon.

Sodality Communion Sunday Mass is at 8:30 AM. on the third Sunday of each month.

Youth Ministry

Our Youth Ministry program is actively involved in the new initiatives in the Belleville Diocese. Our program is working to give our young parishioners an active part in our worship program, and provide a faith path from childhood to young adulthood.

Newcomer Welcome

The Newcomer's program provides welcome to new parish members - providing information, direction and assistance where needed. They also provide a link between the Pastor and new parishioners, so that our new members may be as actively involved as possible.

Parish Health Ministry

Saint Mary's Health Ministry works to promote physical, spiritual, and social healing among our parish community. Health care ministers share the values of compassion, hope, stewardship and collaboration in their ministry to heal as Jesus healed.

On the second weekend of each month this ministry offers free blood pressure screening at each mass.

Bereavement Committee

This committee provides support following funerals of our parishioners. After funeral meals are provided at the parish when requested by the family. Active participation is always needed for this ministry of compassion. Contact our Rectory to participate.

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Social Organizations

Men's Club

The Men's Club provides a social gathering open to all men in the parish. The group promotes social interaction, harmony, and Christian fellowship.

The Men's Club meets on the second Monday of each month a 7:00 PM for an evening meal and business meeting.

Parish Festival

The Parish Festival is held annually in June. The event is primarily a fund raising project for St. Mary Academy, but it also provides a wonderful opportunity for social interaction, homecoming, and entertainment.

Quilters

Our Quilting group is a subgroup of the Ladies Sodality, serving both a service and social role. The Quilters craft many beautiful quilts each year that are used as prizes in fund raising activities.

The Quilters meet each Tuesday and Thursday during the day and in the evening. The day time group meets from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The evening group starts at 7:15 PM. Both groups meet at the quilting room in St. Mary Academy.

Mary's Gardening Angels

Our Gardening Angels organize the effort to plant flowers and greenery around the parish each year.

See the Parish bulletin and the Bulletin Board page on this site for activities and meeting times of the Mary's Gardening Angels.

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Faith Formation Organizations

Parish Board of Education

This board assists the Pastor and Principal in operation of the St. Mary Academy and Sunday Parish School of Religion.

PTO

The PTO promotes the image, effectiveness, and financial viability of St. Mary School. Fund raising programs are conducted annually. Several subcommittees work in various interest areas to improve school activities.

St. Mary Preschool

Our preschool gives students, ages three and four, the opportunity to learn a variety of skills. Programs are offered in music, art, band, chorus, computer instruction, science, physical education and athletics.

Special Religious Education

Children with special educational needs are helped to prepare for the sacraments and to become part of the Church community. The program features individualized instruction and personal attention to each student's needs.

This program meets weekly on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM.

Men's and Women's Retreat

The men and women of our parish are annually invited to the King's House of Retreat for a weekend of solitude, silence, and spiritual input.

Details for joining a retreat are published in our Sunday bulletin.

Pro-Life Committee

This committee is St. Mary's link to the wider diocesan and national pro-life movement. The committee sponsors and promotes consciousness raising events, and sells roses for life on Mother's Day.

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Page Updated: 02/10/08