| MOMS works.
In plain, simple and everyday ways, the Ministry of Mothers Sharing
touches the lives of women who are mothers, brings them into community
with other mothers and propels them to go forth to serve the Lord. “MOMS
embraces the very essence of our Gospel call,” says founder Paula Hagen,
OSB. Thousands of women across the nation agree. They are blossoming within
the context of MOMS’ welcoming Christian faith community.
The ministry’s impact can be felt from Juneau to Jacksonville, Phoenix
to Philadelphia. It flourishes in rural and metro parishes, among new and
more experienced moms alike. Parish and regional newsletters sing its praises.
Lasting friendships are formed. New ministries thrive.
“MOMS is successful because it draws on women’s wisdom, because the
ministry belongs to the mothers. It reaches out to all mothers, all ages,
all needs,” Hagen says. The ministry’s roots can be traced back 13 years
to when the first group came together at St. Timothy Catholic Community
in Mesa, Ariz. “The 50th MOMS group at that parish celebrated its graduation
earlier this year,” Hagen notes, “At St. Tim’s alone, hundreds of mothers
have shared their journeys and experiences. Now each of them better understands
her own call to ministry. Many have moved into active ministry in their
parish and beyond.”
As that scenario repeats itself in parishes across the country, Hagen
and a crew of regional coordinators are providing the leadership training
and ongoing support to make adopting and continuing the ministry as easy
as possible.
True to its original format, MOMS begins with eight sessions designed
to help women realize more fully the sacredness of their call to motherhood
as well as the challenge of and connection between personal and spiritual
growth. Participants agree that MOMS is not a parenting group or a women’s
club. “Those are great ways to meet people,” comments MOMS graduate Allyson
Anderson, “but MOMS does so much more. It nurtures us while encouraging
us to see God’s grace at work in our lives. Really, MOMS did light my spiritual
candle.”
What’s it all about?
The actual topics in the MOMS program are issues mothers themselves have
asked to have covered:
-
self-esteem and self-acceptance (including grace)
-
stress, worries and anxiety
-
everyday spirituality (ordinary holiness)
-
feelings (and how to process them)
-
personal growth (and the importance of goal setting)
-
expressing values in friendships
“The approach is balanced,” says Joan Soller, a former MOMS coordinator
from St. Barnabas parish in Indianapolis. Soller, whose background is steeped
in lay ministry, was so enamored with the MOMS process that she agreed
to serve as the ministry’s national marketing manager. Not only has Soller
been involved in church leadership roles and volunteer positions since
her young adult years, but she also has parents who are tremendous models
of lay leadership. “I thought everybody had the same experience,” she notes
when explaining her background.
However, as Soller got more involved in ministry, she learned that her
experience was an exception to the rule. MOMS first fosters a sense of
acceptance among women, she explains, welcoming each person at whatever
stage of life she finds herself. “No matter where you are, you can see
your gifts and learn from each other.
“In this way, MOMS supports the development of community — women gather
and talk about their souls, their spirits, their trials, their joys — as
women, not necessarily associated with a particular role in their lives.
People I’ve known for a long time on a social or surface basis have opened
their hearts and souls. We feel safe in the MOMS environment right from
the start,” Soller explains.
In fact, an instant bond is created between the larger church community
and MOMS participants when total strangers agree to serve as prayer partners
for women going through the process. Photographs can hardly convey the
emotion on MOMS graduates’ faces when they find out that another person
has been praying for them throughout the eight-week journey.
Soller recalls the impact of one MOMS group following a member’s recent
neurosurgery. When her out-of-state sister-in-law came to stay with her
nieces and nephews, she was surrounded by MOMS graduates — in a prayer
service for healing, with daily phone calls and through help with the kids.
The visiting relative was amazed by the Christian witness of the MOMS community,
“I love these wonderful women,” she said. “I wish we lived here.”
To parishes and communities at large, one of the greatest benefits of
MOMS is the outreach programs that develop. At St. Barnabas, MOMS graduates
were the driving force behind a nursery at the parish elementary school,
which provides parents with childcare when they volunteer in the classroom.
“The principal saw the organizational skills of the MOMS leaders. She trusted
them and said, ‘Go for it.’ Now the nursery is there for the larger community,
not just for MOMS.”
Other examples of MOMS’ impact in communities include being a welcome
next step for RCIA participants looking for additional spiritual enrichment,
being the impetus for outreach ministries and support groups and being
a call to involvement in lay leadership on liturgy committees and parish
councils. At San Jose Catholic Church in Jacksonville, Fla., MOMS members
started a bereavement ministry, a ministry to the separated and divorced
and the childcare Children’s Liturgy of the Word.
Both Hagen and Soller agree that the initial eight MOMS gatherings are
only the beginning of the ministry. Most groups choose to continue with
monthly or quarterly gatherings focused on topics of interest to participants.
Guest speakers, Scripture study, expansion of topics from the MOMS Personal
Journal and service projects are just a few of the ongoing opportunities.
ML
Vickie LoPiccolo Jennett worked with Paula Hagen to develop three
Ministry of Mothers sharing books She lives and works in Chandler, Ariz.
You can e-mail her at viclj@worldnett.att.net.
Some MOMS resources:
MOMS: Developing
a Ministry
MOMS: Facilitators
Guide
MOMS: Personal Journal
MOMSTORIES: Instant
Inspiration for Mothers
MOMStories: Minute
Meditations for Mothers
What do YOU Think?
Send an e-mail to ML Editor
or post an entry on the ML Current Issue
Discussion Board. (All submissions become the property of RPI and may
be edited for length.) |
