Ministry of Mothers Sharing

Introduction
M.O.M.S. stands for Ministry of Mothers Sharing a program established by St. Paul’s Monastery as an outreach ministry of the Sisters of St. Benedict of St. Paul's Monastery to bring mothers together for spiritual support. M.O.M.S. takes its inspiration from the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. It aims and objectives are to

M.O.M.S. Ministry at St. Gregory’s

Mother. Wife. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Parishioner.

M.O.M.S. strives to develop and deepen our many roles as women. M.O.M.S. was created to connect moms of the parish to each other and give support to their spirituality. We support each other in our critical roles as mothers, and also help each other be true to ourselves.

The ministry incorporates various forms of prayer. The faith-sharing aspect allows mothers to learn, pray and minister to each other. The program also helps women hone in on their communication skills while developing their prayer life at home. Thus, rooted in our belief in God, this ministry helps you the mom to navigate the dynamics of motherhood, including self-acceptance, stress, spirituality, feelings, personal growth, and friendships. In addition, we work together to give back to the local community, particularly causes benefiting mothers and children.

Who should join?

M.O.M.S. welcomes all Saint Gregory mothers to join, whether your kids are days old or in college. There are M.O.M.S. sessions created to suit everyone's schedule including morning and evening groups.

Activities

The initial M.O.M.S. program meets once a week for six weeks. Afterwards, the group meets approximately every other month in social settings. One of the goals of M.O.M.S. is to collaborate with local organizations to benefit families in need, particularly mothers and their kids. In the past, M.O.M.S. members have spearheaded collections for Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, Hurricane Katrina victims, and for Providence Place, a transitional housing shelter for women and their children which is part of the Catholic Charities network.

I barely have time to take a shower, how can I possibly be involved in another activity?

This perpetual feeling of "I'll never catch up" is exactly why M.O.M.S. exists. We give you the much needed space for yourself! With the support of women like yourself, the goal of M.O.M.S. is to give you time for self-examination, personal reflection, and prayer.

I work full-time. I can't meet during the day, how can I become involved?

M.O.M.S. is for you! While we understand things arise unexpectedly, you deserve to have time for yourself and should do your best to attend all the sessions. Each mother is given a personal journal to record thoughts and feelings. Individual chapters are discussed in weekly sessions.

M.O.M.S. was created to connect moms to each other and their spirituality. We meet socially every several months, inspired by spiritual forums or acts of good deeds. The time commitment is minor, but the rewards are major!

"For to be a woman is to have interests and duties, raying out in all directions from the central mothercore, like spokes from the hub of a wheel. The pattern of our lives is essentially circular. We must be open to all points of the compass; husband, children, friends, home, community; stretched out, exposed, sensitive like a spider's web to each breeze that blows, to each call that comes."
-from Gift From the Sea
written by Anne Morrow Lindbergh,
mother, wife, grandmother, author, aviator