Parish admins urged to imitate Mary as they serve the Church

During their anything-but-average days, they serve as counsellors, tour guides, supply officers, coffee makers, troubleshooters, photographers and bulletin preparers. Still others serve as translators, money collectors, laundry workers, dog walkers, chefs and horticulturalists. Their job responsibilities may be unique to their particular parish or school, but may accurately be summarized as “Director of First Impressions.” 

The Diocese of Metuchen celebrated the invaluable assistance extended by its parish administrative assistants at a day of reflection, Mass and luncheon held in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center April 1. The event, sponsored by the Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, also provided an opportunity for parish administrative assistants to be introduced to diocesan staff, who each introduced themselves and gave a brief explanation of their roles and responsibilities.

In her presentation entitled “The Many Hats of Mary,” workshop leader Mary Morrell shared her own impressions of the dedicated and multi-talented employees she has encountered through the years.

“You are like my secret weapon,” Morrell said. “We couldn’t function without you. You are so essential to our Church in the Diocese of Metuchen … [You] may be in the background, might lose sight of your importance, or underrate you own work, but it cannot be easily duplicated by another.”

Mother Mary is another example of a woman who wore many hats, opined Morrell. “Mary grew in her understanding of her mission as mother of Christ,” she said. “We need to look at how she carried all these hats and not fall to pieces,” stressing Mary’s complete trust in God and belief in the divinity of her son, Jesus. Mary took her own advice, said Morrell, referring to Mary’s instructions to the servants at the Wedding of Cana: ”Do whatever he tells you.”

Morrell, too, has worn a number of hats throughout her long career of service – creator of a Montessori based pre-K program at St. Cecelia’s School, Iselin; grant-writer; leader of religious education and communications for the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton as well as RENEW International; hospice volunteer, and syndicated columnist for “Things My Father Taught Me,” which has been running uninterrupted since 1995. Morrell currently serves as president of the Foundation for the Institute of Judeo-Christian Studies at Seton Hall, and is editor-in-chief for “The Catholic Spirit,” the newspaper for the Diocese of Metuchen.

“To accept the things we have to do, we can carry the weight of our hats if we understand our mission,” Morrell continued. “If we turn to Mary, it becomes clear that God not only has a distinctive plan for each of us, but uses our efforts in ways that vastly exceed our own awareness. Through the examples of many men and women, Scripture has taught that each of us has a unique role in building the kingdom of God and our role cannot be carried out by anyone else.”

Morrell said, “Jesus grew the kingdom of God through invitation, and invitation is inherently welcoming. You are in the unique position as the director of first impressions to extend that same invitation to everyone you speak to, everyone who comes to the door, comes to you by emails and phone. Being welcoming is essential to making sure you help the parish grow in its mission.”

As the workshop drew to a close, Bishop James F. Checchio visited with the parish administrative assistants and expressed his love, prayers and gratitude for the many hats each wore while serving in their offices.

“You are certainly the front lines of the Church, which is the body of Christ,” the Bishop told them. “When people come to the church, you are the first contact for them, and how you treat them is how they see the Church. Mary gives us a good example of how you are supposed to be. Thank you for being the face of the Church.”