*You’re all invited!*
*Third Thursday of each month (Calendar)*
*Parish Hall (Sunday School) building, upstairs classroom*

Mission of Women of St. Mary’s We provide meals, visits, phone calls, and transportation to parish members in need.  “Sunshine baskets” are provided to parishioners who are sick or hospitalized, and baked good are collected to be boxed and sent to our college students.       We raise money for local charities, donate supplies to needy groups, and organize the collection of food, clothing, and school supplies for children and families.     For more information about our group, please see the WoSM tri-fold brochure located at the church tract table and in Parish Hall.

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Halloween Care Packages Prep for Our College Students and Soldiers

Calendar of Events

Next WoSM Meeting
We meet regularly on the third Thursday of every month, September to May.  Our upcoming meeting will be on January 21, 7:30pm in the Parish Hall (Sunday School) building.  Hope you can join us.

December 9:  2nd Wednesday luncheon.  Parish Hall.  10:45 a.m. church service; 11:30 a.m. program:  North Harford High School Madrigal Singers; noon lunch ($2 each, kids eat free).  A FUN musical program for the kids! 

November 29 & December 13:  Collection Dates for Christmas Donations.  We’re looking for small toys for 50 Christmas stockings.  We’re also collecting school shirts (sizes 4 to 16).  Contact Ann Weaver at 410.838.5097.

Month of December:  Sale of St. Mary’s Church Note Cards.  Picture created by George Pfeiffer.  Price:  10 for $3.50.  (Special thanks to Rita Gribbell and Connie Richmond for the labeling & packaging of the cards!)   

January 21:  Women of St. Mary’s (WoSM) Meeting.  Parish Hall.  7:30 p.m.  (There is no meeting in December.)

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TAKE THE ONLINE CHURCH SURVEY

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SALES

The Women of St. Mary’s have 2-Year Calendars (2010-2011) available for sale for the cost of $2.00.  They are on the tract table at the rear of the Church and there will be some also in the Parish Hall.  There are four designs available and they make nice gifts.  Questions:  Sallie Parker, 410 838-3677

FUNDRAISER/DONATION NEWS & RECENT PURCHASES

Our art restoration fund is doing great due to the recent successes of our Peach Fest and Rummage Sale.  We believe we have enough money in the fund to pay for the restoration/reframing of the next two chancel paintings.

The pick-up load of school supplies we collected from parishioners and sent to the Mason Dixon Ready2Learn division was well received.

Please remember to renew or sign up at www.escrip.com if you shop at Safeway. Every time you shop and use your card, the WoSM will receive money into our general operating fund, so it’s an easy way to donate to our group.

5 new card tables were purchased with our funds over the summer to replace the old rickety ones.

We’ve started to discuss our Christmas Families for this year.  We will also be collecting school shirts and small items for filling stockings for the Salvation Army.

UPDATING E-MAIL ADDRESSES

We’re updating our e-mail list to make sure we capture everyone who wants to receive WoSM news via e-mail.  Clip-out coupons are on the tract table, and Sunday School moms received a letter with the coupon asking for your updated e-mail address.  Fill out and drop the clip-out coupon in the labeled box in the Fellowship Lobby.

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I hope we get the chance to meet each other soon. Call or e-mail me if you have questions. Let me know what we can do to better inform, involve, and interest you!

Amy Parker, President of the WoSM - 410-838-6845 - amparker@verizon.net

The Women of St. Mary’s (WoSM) group is dedicated to the service of St. Mary’s parish, our local community, and the broader family of the Episcopal Church.  All women who are members in good standing of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church are, by that fact, also members of the WoSM.  The group meets regularly on the third Thursday of each month, from September through May, at 7:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall building. 

The WoSM supports our parishioners by providing meals, visits, phone calls, and transportation to parish members in need.  “Sunshine baskets” are provided to parishioners who are sick or hospitalized, and baked goods are collected to be boxed and sent to our college students.  The WoSM provides keepsake gifts for the First Communion and Confirmation classes, and also gives out baptism candles to the new babies in our church family. 

Part of the group’s fundraising activities includes the annual Peach Festival and Rummage Sale. In order to raise additional money, the WoSM has catered countless functions for the Soroptomist Club dinners, the Annual Harford County Historical Society, the Second Wednesday luncheons, the Civil Air Patrol dinners, various ecclesiastical visits, funeral receptions, etc.  

Every year the WoSM raises funds and chooses 8-10 local non-profit groups to receive 10 percent of the WoSM’s “income” for the year.  In order to keep its female parishioners apprised of the various WoSM activities for each month, the group publishes a monthly newsletter.  

The Second Wednesday Luncheon is hosted by the Women of Saint Mary’s and provides an occasion for senior citizens to gather for worship, entertainment, and luncheon. There is a celebration of the Holy Communion at 10:45am in the great hall of the educational building (which is handicap accessible), a program at 11:15am with the meal being served at noon. A free-will offering is received to offset to cost of the meal.

The duties of each position are as follows:

President (currently Amy Parker)

1. Preside over the monthly WoSM meetings with agenda.
2. Coordinate the work of the WoSM members to ensure a unified effort (at fundraisers, etc.).
3. Be a point of contact for all WoSM correspondence (e-mail, snail mail, face-to-face).
4. Assist with fundraising ideas and follow through on those ideas.
5. Work with PR officer to inform, involve, and interest the female parishioners (which includes overseeing the production of the monthly newsletter, and sending notifications to the female congregation of upcoming dates important to the WoSM or areas where we need assistance).
6. Facilitate the Safeway e-scrip and recycling program.
7. Prepare the Annual Report.

Secretary (currently Toni Villard and Rita Gribbell)

1. Record the minutes of all meetings and provide them to the WoSM officers every month.
2. Be prepared to read the minutes of the previous meeting.
3. Maintain a current WoSM membership list.
4. Organize all meeting minutes in a binder, bringing it to each monthly meeting so that it can be referred to when questions arise about an issue, event, or date.

Treasurer (currently Ann Weaver)

1. Have custody of all funds of the WoSM.
2. Plan monetary needs (change boxes, etc.) for all fundraisers/bake sales and be responsible for receiving and depositing the funds.  
3. Keep a full and accurate account of receipts and expenditures including reconciliation of the bank statement each month.
4. Track all finances via a detailed spreadsheet.  (Right now this monetary tracking is done by hand, but we intend to switch to electronic upon the election of a new officer.)
5. Make disbursements as authorized by the President (such as reimbursing WoSM members who pay out-of-pocket expenses for food and/or supplies for fundraising and other events, etc.).
6. Present a written financial statement at every meeting of the WoSM to keep the officers informed about expenditures and current bank balance.