- 1 - Fourth Day News Washington Cursillo Movement Oct. – Dec. 2015 – 4 th Quarter Edition Inside This Issue Secretariat Corner “Sweet Little Jesus Boy: Help Us to Remember Who You Really Are.” 1-2 “No Longer A Virgin” “Don’t Give It Till It Hurts Give It Till It Feels Good” 218 th Women’s Weekend “” My God In Whom I Trust” From The Community “Let’s Go To The Hop” Prayer Corner 2-4 4 5 6-7 7 7 Cursillo In Action Fifth Day Corner “Sharing My Hallelujah Moment” Annual Fundraiser Pre-Cursillo Message Editor’s Corner FDN Production Schedule 2016 Calendar of Events List of Ultreyas 8-11 12-13 14 14-15 15 16 16 17 18 SWEET LITTLE JESUS BOY Help us to remember who you really are. “This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his one and only son into the world to give us life.” 1 John 4:9 Season’s Greetings: On behalf of the Secretariat, we wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Joyous, Happy and Healthy New Year. Secretariat Corner Informing, Enlightening, and Building Community Please join us in extending our sincere thanks to Jennifer Tilghman, who for personal reasons had to resign as Co- Chair of 3-Day, and Judy Kelly whose term as Co-Chair of Post Cursillo ended on December 12 th . We welcome Leanne Stivers, Sheronne Wilson and Rich and Marion Gould to the Secretariat. Leanne will serve with Sue Numrich as Co-Chair of School of Leaders; Sheronne will serve with Jennifer Ferguson as Co-Chair of 3-Day and Rich and Marion will serve as Co-Chairs of Pre- Cursillo. Nancy Smallwood will now serve with Ginger Caldwell as Co-Chair of Post Cursillo. Shelia Vallot will now serve with Burma Hill as Co-Chair of Communications. Charles Smallwood will now serve with Gwen Sutton as Co- Treasurer. Deacon Timothy Tilghman (Assistant Spiritual Advisor), Barbara Shaw (Assistant Spiritual Advisor), Vincent Jordan (Financial Officer) and Cheryl Kerwin (Secretary), will continue to serve as members of the Secretariat.
Transcript
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A
Fourth Day News Washington Cursillo Movement
Oct. – Dec. 2015 – 4th Quarter Edition
Inside This Issue
Secretariat Corner “Sweet Little Jesus Boy: Help Us to Remember Who You Really Are.”
1-2
“No Longer A Virgin” “Don’t Give It Till It Hurts Give It Till It Feels Good” 218th Women’s Weekend “” My God In Whom I Trust” From The Community “Let’s Go To The Hop” Prayer Corner
2-4 4 5 6-7 7 7
Cursillo In Action Fifth Day Corner “Sharing My Hallelujah Moment” Annual Fundraiser Pre-Cursillo Message Editor’s Corner FDN Production Schedule 2016 Calendar of Events List of Ultreyas
8-11 12-13 14 14-15 15 16 16 17 18
SWEET LITTLE JESUS BOY
Help us to remember who you really are.
“This is how God showed his love for
us: God sent his one and only son
into the world to give us life.”
1 John 4:9
Season’s Greetings: On behalf of the Secretariat, we wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Joyous, Happy and Healthy New Year.
Secretariat Corner
Informing, Enlightening, and Building Community
Please join us in extending our sincere thanks to Jennifer Tilghman, who for personal reasons had to resign as Co-Chair of 3-Day, and Judy Kelly whose term as Co-Chair of Post Cursillo ended on December 12th.
We welcome Leanne Stivers, Sheronne Wilson and Rich and Marion Gould to the Secretariat. Leanne will serve with Sue Numrich as Co-Chair of School of Leaders; Sheronne will serve with Jennifer Ferguson as Co-Chair of 3-Day and Rich and Marion will serve as Co-Chairs of Pre-Cursillo. Nancy Smallwood will now serve with Ginger Caldwell as Co-Chair of Post Cursillo. Shelia Vallot will now serve with Burma Hill as Co-Chair of Communications.
Charles Smallwood will now serve with Gwen Sutton as Co-Treasurer. Deacon Timothy Tilghman (Assistant Spiritual Advisor), Barbara Shaw (Assistant Spiritual Advisor), Vincent Jordan (Financial Officer) and Cheryl Kerwin (Secretary), will continue to serve as members of the Secretariat.
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Paul Washington and I will continue to serve as Lay Co-Directors. The Secretariat agreed to extend our term until December 1, 2016. A search committee of former Lay Directors will be formed at the beginning of the New Year and we will prayerfully have our replacement(s) elected in September 2016. You will be notified when the search committee is in place and you are encouraged to nominate candidates to serve as Lay Director(s).
Please offer prayers for the members of the
Secretariat as we serve as Christian Leaders for
our Movement.
The February 2016 Women’s Weekend will be our final weekend at the Josephite Seminary. The Josephites will be renting space to the Paulist Fathers and therefore will not be able to accommodate us for future events. A search committee to identify a new location to hold our weekends has been formed by the Co-Chairs of 3 Day. The search committee is looking for a facility within the Archdiocese and will greatly appreciate any recommendations for locations that can accommodate Cursillo and all related activities. Please contact Jennifer Ferguson or Sheronne Wilson. Twenty-four (24) members from our community joined over 600 Cursillistas at the National Encounter which was held at Villanova University, July 23rd – 26th.
Funds raised by our participation at the Preakness enabled us to offer $100.00 stipends towards the registration fees. September 17th – 20th, we hosted a Cursillo de Cursillo (CDC) at the Josephite Seminary. 24 Cursillistas attended the CDC. The CDC Weekend is designed for leaders within the Movement who are Secretariat members, Ultreya Leaders, Committee Chairs, upcoming Coordinators and potential new leaders within the Movement. We all know the “how” and “what” of what we do in the Movement, this workshop focused on the “why” of the Movement in order to enhance our understanding and growth within the Movement and to keep a clear perspective of the original intent of the founder of the Cursillo Movement, Eduardo Bonin. Steve Krause and Jim Wells (former National Secretariat Members) along with Jackie DeMesme-Gray (former Region 2 Coordinator and a member of the National Secretariat) and Father Alex Waraksa (National Spiritual Advisor) served as CDC team members. Cef Aguillion, National English Speaking Coordinator was scheduled to attend as a team member; unfortunately, due to a family emergency he was unable to attend. Cef will be leading a Workshop for our community on March 5, 2016. This workshop is being coordinated by our School of Leaders Co-Chairs. More information about the workshop will be provided at a later date. We pray that you all will have an encounter with the Mercy of God during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy – December 8, 2015 – November 20, 2016.
De Colores LaVerne Atiba & Paul Washington
Co-Lay Directors
“Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me.”
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NO LONGER A VIRGIN
I am no longer a virgin! This is not my confession of inappropriate behavior but a sharing of good news! I am not referring to "the birds and the bees". No, I am no longer a virgin in the Cursillo movement. I have recently experienced being on a team for the first time. WOW! Who knew what growth would take place in me? The months spent in formation were amazing----I was wooed by the call to action. Soon after the call we, the team members, met for the first time. We were essentially strangers, who even though we had seen each other occasionally, had not shared more than a passing hello. It was a bit awkward, as most first meetings usually are, but then we began to see each other more frequently, about once a week.
As the weeks passed our relationship became stronger; we would share a meal together, write notes, say a prayer, a few emails passed among us, or an occasional phone call just to say hello or "can you?", "will you?" For several weeks we did not see each other and I really missed my team mates. Well, as you can imagine it had turned into a serious, warm, caring and loving relationship. We became more than friends, we became family! After four months of spending a short time with each other we spent a weekend together. That weekend was so full of talk, prayer, and activity and we had a wonderful time. During those few days we began to grow our family, our "Babe Chicks" came into our lives. Oh, they were a motley crew----old, young, black, white and brown, thin as a rail, or pleasingly plump, talkative or quiet, inquisitive or not interested, strong-willed or passive. They presented quite a challenge to our newly formed family!! There were times we became frustrated, confused and even discouraged because of the challenges we faced. I, for one, didn't realize how difficult it would be. Of course, having 29 people (most of them women) together for four days should have clued me in!! But as the days passed a metamorphosis took place; we watched these women grow in the Spirit and increase their Faith. It started as a few "Glimmers of Hope" as they listened to the rollos, "Embers of Kindness" were ignited as we got more comfortable with those around us. Then "Lights of Love" began to glow until "Flames of Faith" were roaring all around us. A change in them and a change in us was the miracle brought about by the "Spirit on Fire!"
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We now have a growing and loving family of Cursillistas who will support, encourage and pray for each other as we continue to seek "S'more Grace". Who would have thought that perfect strangers could make a perfect family? God is so good! ULTREYA!
Mary McCullough St. Mary Church Newport
208th Women’s Cursillo October, 2013
Don’t give till it hurts; Give till it feels good!
The Christian life is hard. But the critical question to be asked if you are considering accepting the invitation to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is not: Are you tough enough? But, do you trust enough? Do you believe that God can and will take care of you; that he will never leave nor forsake you? When Jesus asked: “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”, he was specifically speaking about the “cup” of suffering.
Will you stick with him even when doing so will mean enduring suffering and sacrifice? Every day around the world Catholics get up from their pews to receive Holy Communion. First they receive the consecrated Host and then the Precious Blood from the Chalice. “Can you drink the cup that I drink?” Like the two disciples in the Gospel we may say “Yes, we can!” but then go up to the altar barely realizing what this gesture commits us to! From the very beginning of the Church, Christians have been called to spread the Good News about Jesus Christ as far and as wide as possible! But it has also required us to lay down our very lives to accomplish this task. In this is the problem. Good news is easy and fun to share… until it hurts! This is where we falter, shrink and lose our courage: “Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many” (Isaiah 53:10-11). The Gospel continues in this vain: “The Son of Man did not come to serve but to…give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:44-45). But the role and necessity of suffering shouldn’t surprise us. After all, we actually bless ourselves with the sign of the cross for goodness sake! Once you examine a crucifix and realize that this is no celebration of suffering and torture, but the ultimate act of love that could not be snuffed out or extinguished despite the pain! Suffering freely accepted and offered in love for the good of another will make you better, not bitter and catapult you forward rather than set you back! So, in the end, the question is not “Can you drink the cup that Jesus drinks?” But, will you?
218th Women’s Cursillo Weekend When asked to coordinate the 218th Women’s Cursillo, the only word that spoke to me at that time was TRUST—I knew I only had my Trust in God to rely on—so I turned to the Holy Spirit to help me choose a team, to form a team and to lead that team to the weekend. I am not a baker! Anyone who knows me, knows that. But even so, I know a thing or two about mixing things up! And mix things up Our Lord has helped me do. First, that great mixer, the Holy Spirit, led me to stir something up with Ginger Caldwell as my Assistant Coordinator, Sheronne Wilson as Head Angel, Carrie Johnson Clark (first timer) and Tawana Wiley as Angels. Things will really heat up with Ginger stirring the pot with the Piety Rollo, Sheronne with The Prodigal Meditation, Carrie with Christ’s Message to the Cursillistas and Tawana with the Study Rollo. As the song says, “Great things happen when God mixes with us!” Needing a little yeast, God has given us Table Leaders Nancy Waskiewicz doing the Ideal Rollo, Nicole Commissiong the Lay Person in the Church Rollo, Mary Anastasio the Action Rollo and first timer Lori Brown the Leaders Rollo—we are rising now! Kneading the mixture for more leavening are Table Leaders Sheila Williams, who will no doubt pound it out with the Study of the Environment Rollo, as well as Dara Means with Christianity in Action Rollo and Marla Jo Bonuccelli with the Cursillista Beyond Cursillo Rollo.
All good mixtures need to rise twice and bringing us up to proper heights will be our Spiritual Advisors, Fr. Gary Studniewski (Know Yourself, Habitual Grace Rollo and the Sacraments Rollo) and Brother Richard McCann (Obstacles, Actual Grace and Life in Grace Rollos). A little spice will be added by first timer Thelma Adams giving us the Three Glances of Christ Meditation, as well as myself presenting the Person of Christ Meditation and Total Security Rollo. All of this will be baked with love and iced by our wonderful first time musician Eileen Doran-Smith, smoothing out the rough areas with her beautiful music! We are Trusting in God to bake us to perfection for the 218th Women’s Cursillo weekend. Pray with us and join us as we begin the weekend on February 11th, 2016!
Sandra Coles-Bell, Coordinator
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Cursillista Veronica “Roni” Jacobs submitted a
number of collected writings that are food for
thought. Live, Love, Laugh, Let Go and Let God.
De Colores!
Old Folks Are Worth A
Fortune
ld folks are worth a fortune; With silver
in their hair, gold in their teeth, stones in
their kidneys, lead in their feet and gas in
their stomachs.
I have become a lot more social with the
passing of the years; some might even call me a
frivolous old gal. I’m seeing five gentlemen every
day.
As soon as I wake, Will Power helps me
get out of bed. Then I go to see John. Then
Charley Horse comes along, and when he is here
he takes a lot of my time and attention. When he
leaves, Arthur Ritis shows up and stays the rest of
the day. (He doesn’t like to stay in one place
long, so he takes me from joint to joint.) After
such a busy day, I’m really tired and glad to go
to bed ─ with Ben Gay. What a life!
P.S. The preacher came to call the other
day. He said that at my age, I should be thinking
about the hereafter. I told him I do all the time.
No matter where I am ─ in the parlor, upstairs in
the kitchen or down in the basement ─ I ask
myself, “Now, what am I here after?”
Anonymous
“HEAVEN’S GROCERY
STORE”
I was walking down life’s highway a long
time ago: One day I saw a sign that read
“HEAVEN’S GROCERY STORE”. As I got a
little closer, the door came open wide. And when
I came to myself, I was standing wide. And when
I came to myself, I was standing inside. I saw a
host of Angels ─ that were standing everywhere.
One handed me a basket and said, “My child,
shop with care.” Everything a Christian needed
was in the grocery store ─ and all you couldn’t
carry, you could come back the next day for
more.
First I got some Patience, Love was in the
same row. Further down was Understanding,
you need that where ever you go. I got a box or
two of Wisdom, a bag or two of Faith. I just
couldn’t miss the Holy Ghost, for it was all over
the place. I stopped to get some Strength and
Courage to help me run this race.
By then my basket was getting full, but I
remembered I needed Grace. I didn’t forget
Salvation, for Salvation that was free. So I tried
to get enough of that to save both of you and me.
Then I started up to the counter to pay my
grocery bill. For I thought I had everything to do
my Master’s Will.
O
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As I went up the aisle, I saw Prayer, and I
just had to put it in. For I know when I stepped
outside, I would run right into sin. Peace and
Joy were plentiful; they were on the last shelf.
Then I said to the Angel, “Now how much do I
owe?” He smiled and said, just take them where
ever you go.” Again I smiled at him and said,
“How much do I really owe?” He smiled again
and said,
“MY CHILD, JESUS PAID YOUR BILL A
LONG TIME AGO”.
Anonymous
“Let’s Go To The Hop”
If your Ultreya wants to be a” Hop Host”,
please contact Paul Washington or
LaVerne Atiba: at LayDirector@washdc-
cursillo.org or Paul Washington on 202-
302-3518; LaVerne Atiba on 202-494-
0060.
As Cursillistas we pray unceasingly. If you have prayer requests, please submit
your e-mail information to MaryAnne Upright at [email protected]. Your request will be sent out by email to the
Fifth Day Corner Somehow, during the holidays, beginning with
Advent, we have to bid farewell to those we care
so much about. During this quarter, we have
said “so long” to a number of our Cursillistas
and other family members, who we remember
and pray that their Fifth Day will be sweet and
rewarding as Jesus promised. We pay tribute to
them in this corner, remembering always that
this is where we are all working to be, living out
our 5th Day! De Colores!
Those 38 Days
Remembering “Daddy” Fred Robinson, Sr.
Father of Lethia Robinson Kelly, 103rd Women’s
Weekend, STA Ultreya
Grandfather of Kelli C. Baxter, 175th Women’s
Weekend, STA Ultreya
Almost two years ago, at the beginning of Advent, my brother and I went to Atlanta, GA to transport our father back to Maryland at his request. He was being called home and he wanted to be surrounded by his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and everyone he knew could help him take his final steps up that “King’s Highway to Heaven”.
From the moment he arrived at the house in Maryland in this wonderfully manned medical transport vehicle (I think the attendants were two sweet angels), he was met with a kings homecoming, balloons encircled the entrance to the house and the Hospice suite was all set up, warm and welcoming. We converted our dining room and it was never more beautiful than during this time. With memories of all of his ancestors, especially his mother and father, lining the walls around his bed, his crucifix on his neck that he always wore, we began the round the clock journey with daddy. Days were spent with Parker, a wonderful young African man who daddy picked to take care of his personal needs. At night, his granddaughter and her husband, Kelli and LaMont, took care of him. He called them his “night crew” and if they were out and he wanted to go to bed, he would wait for them. It was a blessing to pray with him every morning and evening, singing songs the Holy Spirit gave to me that brought him back to his time in the choir at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in New Orleans, LA. Then our scripture readings, when he said as I read Ecclesiastes 3 to him, “that is just how I feel baby, there is a time for everything”. I knew he was trying to tell me I had to let go. I could hardly keep the tears from streaming down my face. I knew that he was holding on, not because he wasn’t ready and willing to go, but because I could not let him go just yet. You see he was “my daddy” and I was “his princess”. As we progressed through those 38 days, each day filled with him holding court, issuing wisdom to his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
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He reminded us time and time again that all we have to do is LOVE God with our whole hearts and state the “true facts because you can’t argue with facts”. How wonderful it was to watch my sons lift him,
care for him, and tell him how much they loved him. He would say “Oh Boy – All Mine” when we all were in his room, circled around his bed. We understood how much he loved us and appreciated that we could give him everything that he needed to leave this life. Just 38 days left and we had to give him our hearts for this lifetime he’d given to us. He spent his last Thanksgiving with us and ate everything he craved, the New Orleans Creole way! The 38 days were beginning to wane. He had a wonderful baritone voice and sang in the choir over the years. We could see that he was getting really tired and his late nights were no longer filled with LaMont taking him to the Savoy at bedtime, but him taking LaMont and Kelli to his gospel roots when he asked them to help him sing, “Sit Down Servant”. We had never heard the song but it was the blessing that we all needed, right then.
His last days were quiet, he wanted quiet. As he traveled, he would tell us what was happening, who he saw and how happy he was. “Oh Boy” he would say as if he was on a roller coaster and having the time of his life. He talked about things in his childhood that my brothers and I had never heard him talk about before. We taped quite a bit because it makes his memory that much sweeter now. Msgr. East and Sister Oralisa came to give him his last rites and we prayed the Divine Chaplet. He was resting in the arms of the Lord and it gave him such peace; I could not deny him completion of his journey. It was after that prayer, when I was alone with him that I told him how much I loved him and was still that little girl that would run down the street to meet him coming from work, with those high top white shoes on, smiling with all my heart. I had a chance to tell him it was okay for him to go because he would always be with me in my heart and I knew that he was going to that perfect place, where Jesus had prepared a table for him, walking in his 5th Day. On the 38th day, early December 18, 2013, daddy quietly slipped away. We thanked God for the special time we had; that time of taking that last walk with someone you love so much. He said he wanted to go and be with mother, and my brothers and I were reminded that he waited until the date in which she went home 36 years earlier, December 18th!!!! De Colores daddy, you are home now. (LARSK)
I glorified you on earth,
having accomplished the
work that you gave me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me
in your own presence with
the glory that I had with you
before the world existed.
John 17:4-5
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Sharing My Hallelujah Moment!
Burma S. Hill
Recently, I was at a vending machine at a local hospital trying unsuccessfully to get snacks for my grandson. When the machine continuously rejected my bills, a young man about twenty- something asked, “What are you trying to get?”. I told him my choices and he immediately swiped his credit card and hit the corresponding numbers for my choices. When I expressed my gratitude and handed him the money, he vigorously shook his head, put his hand on my shoulder, looked directly in my eyes and said “I don’t want money; I just need you to pray for me.” Wow! Momentarily shell-shocked by this random act of kindness and his powerful request, I gathered my senses and said, “We are going to pray right now.” And pray I did. It will be a long time before I can forget the look of gratitude and relief in the young man’s eyes. The embrace after the prayer sealed the commitment in my heart to continue to pray for him. Surprisingly, throughout this exchange, we never exchanged names and I never asked his need. We both were relying on God to take care of his need for prayer. Names were not needed.
The Holy Spirit had given us both what we needed: for him, it was the solace of prayer; for me, it was my spontaneous response to God’s call to help someone. A Hallelujah Moment!
(Original article written for In the Spirit, annual
newsletter of Sisters in the Spirit in the
Archdiocese of Washington)
Cursillo Annual Fundraiser
The time of year has arrived again for our annual fundraiser. It will be greatly appreciated if you will make a donation which will be used to defray costs related to our Movement. There is no amount that is too small. All of the donations received regardless of the amount are added together for a grand total. Our contributions have ranged from $2.00 to $800.00. Please support our annual end of year fundraiser. As you are aware, fundraisers are our only means of financial support and it is your generous donations that make it possible to finance activities for the movement such as: expenses related to School of Leaders events, purchasing books, assisting candidates who are unable to pay to attend a weekend, Sunday lunches for the weekends, weekend supplies, costs related to our newsletter and National and Regional dues. Your donations are tax deductible and may be claimed on your 2015 tax returns.
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Enclosed in this newsletter you will find a self-addressed envelope for you to return your donations. In the event that you did not receive a return envelope, donations may be returned to Gwen Y. Sutton, 5727 - 5th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20011. Together we can make this year exceed all of our previous fundraisers. Please be generous. May the Lord bless you in every area of your life, especially in your caring generosity. I wish each of you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. De Colores!
Gwen Sutton Treasurer
Pre-Cursillo
As new Pre Cursillo chairs, Rich and I (Marion) are looking forward to working with the Secretariat. First, we want to thank Nancy and Charles Smallwood for the wonderful job they did as chairs of the Pre Cursillo Committee and for the confidence and support they have in Rich and me. It is our hope to encourage everyone to sponsor candidates for the Cursillo weekends and to make sure it is smooth a process as possible.
We will be collecting applications for all the 2016 weekends even though right now we do not know where those weekends will be after February. We do know that as long as we are working with Jesus, HE will lead the way and the weekends will take place. The most current application form is posted on the Washington Cursillo® Movement website at http://www.washdc-cursillo.org. Please use this form and send your application(s) to Mr. & Mrs. Richard Gould, 11903 Lanner Place, Laurel, MD, 20708 or e-mail us at [email protected]. We hope all of you will join us in helping Cursillo grow, with your support, we will bring Christ a harvest of souls.
Are you a writer? Do you have thoughts, poems, prayers, or reflections to share? The Washington Cursillo® Community wants to hear from you!! Ultreya Leaders, please send us your sharing ─ it would be great to hear from each leader at least once a year! Babe Chicks your articles are the most important ones. Let us hear from you. Articles should be submitted in Arial 12 Font Size no later than the “submission deadline” listed on the Production Schedule. Remember to sign your articles with your name, weekend, and Ultreya. Submit articles at any time to:
Montgomery County Sue Numrich 7:30pm, 1st Saturday [email protected]
Missionaries of the Most Holy Trinity Home 1733 Metzerott Road Adelphi MD North Montgomery County Steve & Rosemary 7:30 pm 3rd Friday Reeves St. Paul's Church Hall 301-391-6580 9240 Damascus Rd. [email protected] Damascus, MD 20872 NE/SE Carrie Clark 7:30pm, 1st Friday [email protected] St. Anthony's Cafeteria Duane Clark
Duane Clark [email protected] St. Teresa of Avila Jennifer Ferguson 7:30pm, 2nd Monday 301-412-5008 St. Teresa's Church [email protected] Parish Life Center (PLC) [email protected] 14th & V Streets, SE, Washington, DC So. Maryland Marc Abresch 7pm, 4th Wednesday [email protected] St. Mary’s Church Christine Abresch Newport [email protected]
