Parish Life
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St. Martin's Cloak
In the spirit of St. Martin of Tours, who tore his military cloak in half to share with a poor man in need, St. Martin’s Cloak provides financial and other assistance to those in need, particularly those in our own parish. St. Martin’s Cloak partners with various religious and civic organizations in Montgomery County to provide this emergency support. All assistance is completely confidential. The guild meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm in the Scanlan Meeting Room. Our current Chair is Paul Eder, our Treasurer is Greg Stortstrom, and our Secretary is Joan Muller. You may make your gift online at https://membership.faithdirect.net/givenow/30.
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Parish Life Committee
The Parish Life Committee of the Pastoral Council seeks to stimulate both spiritual and social growth within the Parish and foster growth in community spirit. They encourage participation in multiple activities within the parish, including bible studies, the women’s Sodality, the men’s monthly Saturday morning meetings, and donut socials after Mass. They organize special events, including parish-wide receptions and the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner.
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Pro-Life Group
A network of volunteers who assist in projects to raise money to benefit the Right to Life Group of Montgomery County such as selling Christmas cards and Mothers’ Day flowers. Other activities include the March for Life, assisting pregnant women through the Gabriel Project, and praying the Rosary outside a Gaithersburg abortion clinic on Saturdays.
Questions? Edward and Lisa Tennant 301-897-5412
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Ladies of Charity
The St. Jane de Chantal Parish Ladies of Charity (LOC) volunteer many hours of service to the parish and the community. The members meet four times a year for unit business. On a weekly basis, this small, dedicated group of LOC members continue their priority mission of visiting and supporting the Catholic patients and residents of Bethesda Health and Rehabilitation Center through assisting with the celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Word, and through room visits to distribute Holy Communion to those unable to attend the service. The LOC members also host a yearly Christmas Party for the residents at the rehabilitation center. In addition, on a weekly basis, a small group of the LOC members visit the Catholic patients at Suburban Hospital to distribute Holy Communion.
Involvement in St. Jane de Chantal's LOC affords opportunities to become involved in the Archdiocesan and national LOC spiritual events, ministries and leadership roles. As part of the archdiocesan LOC, the St. Jane deChantal’s LOC members support St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth, and Families, founded by the Daughters of Charity. They also participate in the yearly archdiocesan LOC May Crowning and St. Louise de Marillac Luncheon held at St. Ann’s Center, the LOC Archdiocese fall Assembly/Retreat, as well as the annual National LOC Assembly.
New members are always welcome.
For more information contact Maryann Rooney at 301-564-5793 or Nan Venit at 301-530-8175. -
Sandwich Ministry
Starting in 2020 after Covid precautions disrupted free meal programs, parishioners make sandwiches for distribution on Friday to area meal programs. Sandwiches are collected at St. Jane Frances de Chantal parish between 9:00 and 9:15 AM every Friday morning and delivered to the following organizations: S.O.M.E, Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, and every other week to Shepherd's Table. The need at all of these organizations continues to be great, so more volunteers are welcome. Please contact Maria Cornelius, mariagcornelius@gmail.com or 301-613-6991 for more information about how to help.
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Vocations
Vocations
"I am often asked, especially by young people, why I became a priest. Maybe some of you would like to ask the same question. Let me try briefly to reply. I must begin by saying that it is impossible to explain entirely. For it remains a mystery, even to myself. How does one explain the ways of God? Yet, I know that, at a certain point in my life, I became convinced that Christ was saying to me what he had said to thousands before me: 'Come, follow me!' There was a clear sense that what I heard in my heart was no human voice, nor was it just an idea of my own. Christ was calling me to serve him as a priest." - Pope John Paul II
At St. Jane de Chantal, we strive to raise vocation awareness among our Parish and surrounding community. We pray for the young men in our seminary, and for those who have yet to hear God's call. Through our Vocation Spotlights, we learn about our current and future priests by sharing their testimonies. We raise money and run many miles while participating in the annual Run for Vocations. We also host pizza lunches for our children, where they hear first hand from priests and nuns. All of this is done to reinforce the fact that the church needs vocations, that God does call men to follow Him, and that we should be aware as we may be a small part of the story.The Archdiocese of Washington has a fantastic online presence in dcpriest.org. If you are interested in learning more about our seminarians, the Office of Priestly Vocations, or the Blessed John Paul II Seminary itself, we encourage you to visit dcpriest.org.
Give the Gift of Prayer
The "Give the Gift of Prayer" campaign is something we do every Advent. After Thanksgiving, parishioners will notice a strand of Christmas lights in the rear of the church, adorned in tags. Each contains the picture of a current seminarian, brief information about him and his studies, and a prayer on the reverse. It is simple; we ask that these are brought home so that each seminarian has prayers being said for his vocation.
Vocation Spotlights
Reading our Vocation Spotlights gives us the opportunity to see some of the many ways God reaches out to those preparing to be priests in our Archdiocese. The Vocations Comittee makes every effort to gather and produce these on a monthly basis, which allow testimonies to be heard within our parish.
Run for Vocations
We participate in the larger Run for Vocations effort, as part of the Marine Corps Marathon held in Washington, DC. Each year, we field a team of Marathon and 10K race runners who raise money and run many miles on behalf of those giving their life to the church.
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