MOMs Group (Meeting Other Moms)
MOMs Group has been an active group at Holy Martyrs Church since its opening in August of 2010. This group was formed with a simple idea of gathering moms together to discuss many ideas that would benefit their children in a spiritual and social aspect. What a better place to be than in a room with moms discussing their children, their faith, and their church. Church involvement is very important in a family’s life. There is no greater feeling than the feeling of “home” in a church. MOMs group is a social and spiritual group for moms in the parish, which offers support and community. The group provides opportunities for mothers to volunteer for and participate in their children’s activities. The group meets every Saturday from 3pm-5pm (while the children are in catechism). Children too young to register in the catechism program are welcome to stay with their mother during the meeting. We meet in the children’s room for all of our meetings. Even if you can only attend meetings or events occasionally we would love to have you as part of the group. We are always looking for more moms to join the group and/or organize activities. The MOMS group is a great place to make new friends for you and your children.
We are planning to reach out to or community this year and visit the elderly and those in need, by visiting local nursing homes and soup kitchens. We are also planning on inviting a social worker to join us for a few weeks so that we can better educate ourselves on different topics such as discipline, nutrition, drugs, and much more.
Parenting and mothering is the most important function and privilege we have in life.
Our Motto is “Together we can make a difference”
Events by the MOMs Group
In the past MOMs Group has held many different events…
Trunk or Treat
This event is a celebration of All Saints Day. Children are encouraged to wear saint costumes when attending this event. After eating and all the fun activities like hayrides and different games, the children all line up to go trick or treating! The parent’s trunks are all decorated and act as homes in neighborhoods, and the children trick or treat by saying “Happy Saints Day”!
Feast with the Priest
Every year the children of the church have a home cooked Thanksgiving dinner with Father Boji, Father Ayad, & Father Matthew. This gives the children and priests to get to know each other at a more casual environment. Following dinner, all the children are given a Thanksgiving or Christmas craft to work on and take home with them.
Fun Night
Fun Night is our only 4 hour event. We usually have this event during winter break in February. Most parents use this night as a “night out” without the children! The children enjoy dinner followed by fun and games. We have a dj at this event and the children really enjoy all the fun and laughter.
Family Bowling
The families of our parish get together and all enjoy an afternoon of bowling, food, and games with family and friends. We also had a clown attend, and the children love the beautiful job “Giggles” does on face painting!
Breakfast with the Easter Bunny
Our biggest and most popular event is Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. This event is usually held on Palm Sunday. The MOMs Group, along with many other volunteers prepare breakfast and serve over 400 guests! After breakfast, the Easter bunny comes and gives each child a special treat and takes pictures with the children.
Summer Camp
Summer Camp is a program that is lead by the MOMs Group. This program starts in July. The children meet every Tuesday and Thursday for the whole month of July from 10am-2pm. We had over 200 campers last summer and over 50 on the waiting list. Registration for Summer Camp begins in March and last year was full in less than two weeks, so please remember to register asap. The past two themes were “Friendship with Jesus “(July ’11), and “Walking with Jesus” (July ’12). Every day the children rotate to five activities for 30-35 minutes. The activities are as follows: Bible lesson, sports, craft, Chaldean hymns, and special speakers. Our special speakers varied from Sister Christine, to police officers, to doctors, to karate instructors, and much more. All the children join together for lunch at noon. This program is sponsored by different local companies or individuals in our area. If you would like to be a proud sponsor of this program, please contact Istillita Shamoun at shamoun1031@sbcglobal.net for more information. The sponsors make this program more affordable for the families.
Please note that tickets for all of these events are sold prior to the event. There will be no tickets sold at the door on the date of any of these events. There are limited spaces for all of these events, so once the tickets are all sold, the event becomes a closed event.
Joining the MOMs Group
The MOMs group is for all moms in the parish regardless of the age of your children.
If you would like to join the group or have any questions, please contact the group leader, Istillita Shamoun, at
shamoun1031@sbcglobal.net.