Parish Groups & Programs

Although it serves as the major fund raising event of the parish, more importantly, the annual block party provides parishioners of Mary, Mother of God Parish the  opportunity to form community and socialize with the surrounding neighborhood. It also provides and opportunity to cooperate with the members of Shiloh Baptist Church located nearby. The block party is held each year in June, but the planning begins in January. Many volunteers are needed to ensure the success of this endeavor. If you would like to add your name to the volunteer pool, please contact the parish office at (570) 342-4881.

In order to enhance the worship space for Christmas, Easter, and other feasts during the year, this committee gathers to plan and decorate the church. You do not need to be a florist or an artist to serve on this committee; just be willing to lend a hand and give some feedback at some very busy times of the year. If you are interested in serving with this group, please contact the parish
office at (570) 342-4881.

The Funeral Liturgy Team (funeral planning) of Mary, Mother of God Parish provides assistance to families in preparing the funeral liturgy for a deceased loved one.

The committee member helps the family to select appropriate readings, music, and other details of the funeral service or Mass. The committee member is the link between the family and the priest celebrating the funeral liturgy and helps to ensure that all the necessary planning has occurred at this stressful time in a family's life.

If anyone is interested in joining this ministry, please contact the parish office at (570)342-4881.

Recently, the six Catholic parishes of North Scranton merged into one new parish.

The Mary, Mother of God Society (Marian Society) was established to assist the pastor in providing community building activities and events to bring all of our members together. Some of the events sponsored by the society include covered dish supper featuring ethnic foods celebrating the Epiphany, a barbecue lunch at local housing projects, a movie night for families with young children, a bus trip to a major league baseball game, a family luncheon at which long serving parish volunteers were honored, a day of reflection at a local retreat center, and the pastor's favorite-flash mob coffee and doughnut socials after weekend Masses. This society is designed for all adult parishioners. If you are interested in joining this group or participating in its activities, please come to the next meeting as announced in the parish bulletin and calendar on this website.

With the formation of a new parish, significantly larger than any of its predecessors, it became difficult for the pastor to be connected as closely to neighborhood needs and developments as he may have been in the past. Therefore, one of the first organizations established for Mary, Mother of God Parish, is the Neighborhood Apostles.This group consists of parishioners who represent 20 different neighborhoods within the parish boundaries. Their role is to keep the pastor informed of new arrivals in each neighborhood who may be seeking a parish or be in need of parish assistance, to notify the parish of neighbors whose health has declined or who have been recently hospitalized, and to assist the pastor in neighborhood outreach. If you would like to know more about this ministry, please contact the parish office at (570)342-4881.

This group faithfully meets whenever their services are required by the parish office to prepare parish wide mailings. They label and stuff envelopes for all kinds of parish events from the 12 Days of Christmas Raffle to letters from the pastor. The work is usually done on a week day following the 9:00 a.m. Mass.
Anyone who is available at this time and is willing to receive a call to service, please contact the parish office at (570) 342-4881.

Outreach to the less fortunate is the responsibility of all baptized Christians.
Recognizing the poor in our midst and responding to their needs helps us to grow in our relationship with Jesus. At Mary, Mother of God Parish, it is the Social Concerns Committee that spearheads our efforts to fulfill this baptismal mandate. Some of the outreach activities and events sponsored by this committee include: the annual fall coat sale, the Thanksgiving food basket drive, the Christmas giving tree program to provide needy families with clothes and toys, gifts and greeting cards for parishioners who are homebound or in nursing homes at Christmas and Easter, assistance in registering families for the Toys-for-Tots program at Catholic Social Services office, the Easter basket dinner drive, and other events as the need arises. If you are interested in volunteering for any of these activities, please contact the parish office at (570) 342-4881