Many parish members offer some of their time to serve Our Lord by volunteering their services to the parish. Mount St. Michael’s has established a simple organized system so that members can volunteer their time and labors by choosing an area of work that meets each member’s lifestyle and interest.
Volunteer services are only committed for one year. Every year Mount St. Michael’s Guild Association holds a luncheon to allow members to sign up for another year, whether in the same Guild or in another one.
The following is a brief description of Mount St. Michael’s guilds. For more information, please contact Mrs. Tiffany Longo, the Guild Association secretary, or e-mail us.
St. Michael’s has established guilds to cover the following needs of the parish:
Care of the God’s House |
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| Altar Flowers | St. Joseph’s Guild |
Holy Angels Guild |
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St. Therese Guild |
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St. Anne Guild |
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St. Wenceslaus Guild |
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Social Functions |
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St. Philomena Guild |
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Our Lady of Good Counsel Guild |
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Corporal Works of Mercy |
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St. Gerard Guild |
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St. Zita Guild |
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Holy Souls Guild |
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Mater Dolorosa Guild |
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Spiritual Works of Mercy |
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Our Lady of Fatima Guild |
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Our Lady of the Rosary Guild |
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Our Mother of Perpetual Help Guild |
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Preserving and Beautifying the Mount |
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Our Lady of Lourdes Guild |
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St. Isidore's Guild |
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St. Gabriel Guild |
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St. Joseph’s Guild: Altar Flowers
Maria Sarquilla
St. Joseph Altar Flower Guild is dedicated to decorating the church and its side shrines in a fitting and beautiful manner for the house of God.
The altar arrangements are best done with live flowers whenever possible, which the person in charge purchases with funds from the church budget, and arranges for all Sundays, holydays of obligation and special feasts.
The side shrines are the responsibility of one or two persons each, who may use silk flowers and supplies found in the church basement flower room. Flowers should be used for the more festive occasions, but are not required year round. When they are used, the colors for the season and theme for the liturgy are taken into account. The volunteers may make and take apart their arrangements in the flower room as their own time schedule permits as each person has her own key to it, and all are responsible for leaving the flower room in clean and orderly condition. These shrines are “adopted” by their caretaker for a period of one year. The membership is limited only to the number of shrines and willing volunteers for them.
“All for Thee, My Jesus, all for Thee.”
Holy Angels Guild: Cleaning of the Church
Lori Boyer
The Holy Angels Guild ensures that the interior of St. Michael’s Church is always a clean and worthy dwelling for the Divine Presence of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Cleaning is normally done on Friday afternoons or after the Saturday Mass. This Guild offers a glorious opportunity to honor Our Lord by keeping His Home respectfully neat and orderly.
Membership consists of a minimum of thirty volunteers. Members would be asked to work approximately two hours seven times per year. Students and families are encouraged to participate.
This Guild’s duties are to vacuum the chapel and choir loft. The communion rail, statues, pews, choir loft and vestibule must be dusted. The chairs in the vestibule must be cleaned, dusted and straightened and the bulletin rack kept in good order. Major cleaning is done three times each year, normally before Christmas, Easter and Corpus Christi.
St. Therese Guild: Altar Linens
Ines Wagner
The St. Therese Guild cares for the linens used in the sacred liturgy, such as altar cloths, corporals, palls, purificators, etc.
Membership consists of a minimum of six members. This Guild requires the mending, wax removal, stain removal, washing and ironing of the altar linens used in the Chapel. This job is done at home and normally each volunteer would have a minimum of seven days to complete her work. This Guild is a wonderful way to share in the graces of caring for the altar linens.
St. Anne Guild: Vestment Repair
Ann Parent
The St. Anne Guild is charged with the responsibility of repairing the Mass Vestments. These garments give glory to God as they are used in the sacred liturgy, and bear witness to the historical continuity of the Catholic Church and must be handled with the utmost of care.
Membership consists of a minimum of five members. These members must have experience in sewing and repair of garments. Many of the Mass vestments are over 30+ years old and the normal wear and tear takes its toll upon these sacred garments. Each member must be prepared to take as much time as is needed to return these garments to their initial beauty. Many graces will be yours in assisting with this Guild.
St. Wenceslaus Guild: Host Baking
Amy Gilchrist
The St. Wenceslaus Guild supplies Parishes with hosts that are used in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This Guild is for individuals who are committed and devoted to a strict work schedule to prepare the hosts.
Membership consists of at least eight members. The production of hosts requires two individuals to work in the morning at least one day per week and six individuals willing to work in the afternoon at least one day per week.
This Guild’s duties require the preparation of batter, baking, cutting, sorting and counting the hosts. The hosts are then prepared for mailing. Because of the care that must be given to the hosts each function of this Guild requires time to be properly trained.
St. Philomena Guild: Parish Socials
Becky House
The St. Philomena Guild plans and orchestrates parish socials in an atmosphere of friendship and warmth.
Membership consists of a minimum of twelve members. Each member would assist with the socials after the Christmas Midnight Mass, the Easter Paschal Midnight Mass and another couple of social throughout the year.
The work for each social is divided into three categories or crews. One crew is responsible for setup, the second crew is responsible for serving during the social, and the third crew is responsible for cleanup of the dining hall and kitchen. Ideally there would be four volunteers per crew.
Our Lady of Good Counsel Guild: Phone Committee
Susie Welp
The Our Lady of Good Counsel Guild members are asked to call members of the parish when an important event occurs after Sunday Mass and therefore the priest was not able to communicate this announcement from the pulpit. Most generally this is the death of a parishioner and the notice of death and funeral arrangements need to be disseminated to the parish.
This Guild is perfect for members who wish to work from home and can assist with this worthwhile endeavor on very short notice. All announcements are approved by the pastor.
St. Gerard Guild: Meals for New Mothers
Ronette Lodgard
The St. Gerard Guild is responsible for preparing and delivering meals to new mothers in the parish.
Membership consists of a minimum of ten members who will be asked to prepare dinner for the families with newborn children. Dinners will be prepared for seven days after the birth of the new baby. Members will be given instructions on how many are in the family and any special dietary needs; i.e., allergies to certain foods, etc.
St. Zita’s Guild: Sunday Meal for Rectory
Mrs. Judy Farrell
The St. Zita Guild provides Sunday dinner for the rectory at Mount St. Michael’s Church.
Membership consists of at least 20 members who will be asked to provide meals for the rectory two or three times per year.
Preparing dinner for the Rectory entails cooking for the priests and Brothers in residence as well as visiting clergy. If there are boys boarding at the rectory during the school year we cook for them as well. This Guild does have a budget to assist those individuals who need assistance purchasing groceries for this purpose. If you feel you need assistance, do not hesitate to contact the President of this Guild at the number listed above or the Parish Accountant, Mr. Tim Drahman. Dinner is served at the rectory at 6:00 p.m. on Sundays.
The Holy Souls Guild assists in the corporal work of mercy of burying the dead through preparation of gravesites for interment and the general maintenance of our cemetery.
Membership consists of at least four members who are physically able to do at least some manual labor. Members of the Guild value the privilege of excavating gravesites and helping with burial procedures at funerals, as well as the maintenance of the consecrated grounds of the cemetery.
Grave-digging must usually be scheduled on a regular workday (Monday through Friday) and those assisting in this work might have only one or two day’s notice. Grave digging is almost always done by hand with three or four workers. Each grave can usually be dug in less than four hours.
This Guild also assists Mount St. Michael’s regular maintenance workers with general maintenance of the cemetery. This consists of weed-eating, maintaining planters and hand-mowing areas which are too small or delicate for the Mount’s big mower.
Mater Dolorosa Guild: Wakes
Rachel Lentes
The Mater Dolorosa Guild plans and orchestrates private wakes at the Parish for the family in a caring and compassionate atmosphere.
Membership consists of a minimum of twelve members. Members will have very little notice of when and how often they will be called to volunteer. All members may not be needed for each wake.
The work is generally divided into different crews. One crew is in charge of the preparation of the room, a second crew is in charge of setting up and serving for the wake, and a third crew is in charge of the clean up. The Guild president is in charge of contacting the family and making arrangements for the food.
Our Lady of Fatima Guild: Apostolic Works
David Fuire
The Our Lady of Fatima Guild promotes devotion to the Rosary and Scapular. This is an excellent Guild for those who enjoy sharing the beauty of the Rosary and Scapular with others.
Membership consists of at least four members. Members of this Guild will be asked to participate in the following:
1. Participation in the Public Rosary Processions through downtown Riverfront Park on five of the six anniversary dates of Our
Lady’s appearances at Fatima.
2. Promotion of the national Block Rosary devotion through distribution of literature from the national committee and organization of small neighborhood groups which meet once a week at member homes to pray the Rosary.
3. Arrangement of Rosary visits to designated nursing homes.
4. Encouragement of financial support to the Rosary and Scapular Mission Apostolate.
Our Lady of the Rosary Guild: Rosary- and Scapular-Making
Marge Little
The Our Lady of the Rosary Guild provides an apostolic missionary work to make Rosaries and Brown Scapulars to be sent to others worldwide.
Membership consists of a minimum of ten members who make Rosaries and six members who make Brown Scapulars. This Guild attempts to produce over 1,200 cord Rosaries per month and as many Brown Scapulars as possible for shipment overseas.
Those members wishing to assist in the making of Scapulars must have access to a zigzag sewing machine. Each member will be trained on the proper construction of Rosaries and/or Brown Scapulars.
Our Mother of Perpetual Help Guild: Visiting the Dying
Mary Tarrel
The Our Mother of Perpetual Help Guild provides the wonderful act of charity of visiting the dying. Of all the works of Christian charity to our neighbor, none is so meritorious and so pleasing to God as when we assist those who are preparing to meet Him.
Membership consists of a minimum of five members who will visit the dying to say the Rosary with them or for them or to make use of prayers and pious exercises to assist them in their resignation to the will of God and to encourage their desire for heaven, our true home. Prudence in dealing with the dying and his/her family is of great importance.
The President of this Guild will coordinate these visits.
St. Isidore’s Guild: Grounds Maintenance
Brother Sebastian
The St. Isidore’s Guild assists with the upkeep and beautification of the grounds at the Mount.
Membership consists of at least six members. Weather permitting,, work on the grounds begins in late February and continues until early November.
The Mount has approximately 21 acres of lawn as well as shrubbery, flowerbeds and outdoor statues. Duties include raking, mowing, watering, pruning, statue repair and equipment repair. Snow removal on sidewalks and entrances may also be coordinated under this Guild. The president of this Guild reports periodically to the Facility and Maintenance Manager of the Mount.
Our Lady of Lourdes Guild
Eileen Urann
The Our Lady of Lourdes Guild provides the maintenance and care of the lovely Grotto.
This Guild is a wonderful opportunity for those who enjoy gardening and wish to venerate Our Lady with love and care.
Membership consists of a minimum of twenty members. This Guild needs one member that has expertise in caring for roses. Work at the Grotto begins in late February and continues until early November. Duties consist of spring and fall cleanup, planting and fertilizing. The ongoing duties from May to October are weed control, watering, maintenance and improvements.