About Us
Faith Weavers of St. Mary is an all-volunteer organization. We exist because of the generosity of many people who dedicate their time and talents to running our community. Thanks to all of you! Your dedication keeps this community together to support one another and serve the needs of our communities, local, national, and international.
You are invited to join any of our committees or activities. Your time and talents are valuable commodities and you will feel well rewarded if your use your gifts to support our community activities. Please contact Dave Karmon if you want to volunteer.
Mission Statement:
We are a faith community formed to support one another in working to build the kingdom of God through service to others in all aspects of our lives. We have a special mission to support young adults in the process of becoming mature, adult Christians. We are committed to creating an environment open to new expressions of growth and maturity that encourages creativity in worship; promotes ongoing educational development by expanding our vision of ourselves, our church, and our world; and challenges us to responsible activity through our commitment to social justice.
Below is more detailed information about our organization.
Legal
We are a tax-exempt charitable organization
Faith Weavers of St. Mary is a non-profit corporation chartered by the State of Michigan. We have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status so all contributions to us are tax deductible.
Written requests for legal documents related to our nonprofit and tax-exempt status can be sent to:
Faith Weavers of St. Mary
108 S. University Ave. Ste. 1
Mount Pleasant, MI 48858
History
Faith Weavers of St. Mary is a faith community that started in a Roman Catholic parish, St. Mary’s University Parish in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. Bishop Allen J. Babcock, Bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, started the parish in 1959 to serve the students, faculty, administration and staff of Central Michigan University. In 1971 the parish was transferred to the Diocese of Saginaw. As a parish, we served the sacramental needs of our community along with educational and social justice activities.
Over the years the parish attracted people from outside the university community. It had a mixture of student members as well as non-students affiliated with Central Michigan University, Mid-Michigan Community College and the greater Mt. Pleasant community.
When Kenneth Untener became bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw in 1980 he encouraged the pastoral team at St. Mary’s to be a vanguard parish in implementing the changes brought about through the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The mission of St. Mary’s University Parish was expanded to provide a model for students on how a parish should function. Students would then have the knowledge and experience to be lay leaders in parishes they joined after leaving Central Michigan University. Non-student members of the parish worked with students to run the parish. The non-student parishioners saw their role as mentors to students as they matured into adult Christians.
Bishop Untener died in 2004 and the direction of the parish was dramatically changed with the appointment of a new pastor in the fall of 2006. The parish has become a student center with a different set of goals.
Many former parishioners, who joined other area parishes, wanted to maintain our faith community, to support one another in living our Christian beliefs, and to continue our work in helping students as they mature into adult Christians. We are not a separate church, but a faith community within the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. However, we are open to people of other faith traditions who want a community to support them in living out their Christian ideals. We are also ecumenical in cooperating with other churches to provide programs supporting the needs of our community.
We formed the nonprofit corporation, Faith Weavers of St. Mary, in the State of Michigan, to establish a legal structure for our faith community. The name Faith Weavers of St. Mary comes from the motto of St. Mary’s University Parish, “Weaving Faith into Life.” This motto expresses our desire to live as Disciples of Christ through the ordinary activities of daily life. We realize that we are Christians seven days a week and we must conduct our daily lives in harmony with Christ’s example of service to others. We included St. Mary as part of our name to remind us of our roots in St. Mary’s University Parish.
Our community is committed to living out our mission. We do this in many ways:
- We conduct monthly prayer services and pray for the needs of members of our community and the larger communities within our area, our nation and our world.
- We support charitable works through donations to local, national and international charitable organizations.
- We have an international outreach to the people of El Salvador by promoting social justice, and donating to educational scholarships and programs to improve the infrastructure of communities in El Salvador.
- We cooperate with the Wesley Foundation at Central Michigan University to support college students as they explore their faith and the role it will play in their adult lives.
- We sponsor social events to maintain a sense of community within our group.
Committees
Board of Directors has the legal authority to operate Faith Weavers of St. Mary. It meets on an "as needed" basis to make decisions to organize and operate our community. For example, in the past Directors have authorized the committee structure for Faith Weavers, authorized legal documents to be filed, and authorized the establishment of the Faith Weaver's Endowment Fund.
Communication Committee develops and maintains the communication channels within our community and with people outside our group. It is currently working on a brochure describing Faith Weavers of St. Mary. The committee would like to establish a website for Faith Weavers of St. Mary and expand our presence on Facebook. Facebook is a interaction website used extensively by students to form online communities.
Faith Weavers Endowment Fund, Board of Trustees has legal responsibilities for the activities of the Endowment Fund. It has the responsibility to oversee investment policies and make distributions to charitable organizations.
Friends of El Salvador continues the social justice and charitable outreach to the people of El Salvador . This committee has functioned independently over the past two years, but is now an integral part of Faith Weavers.
Steering Committee is responsible for the programs offered by Faith Weavers of St. Mary. It meets monthly to plan the prayer services and social gatherings. It is the committee that oversees all the activities of our faith community.
Social Committee prepares the main dishes for our social gathering after the monthly prayer services and organizes the set-up and clean up after the meal. It also helps plan other social gatherings like our annual "Tornado Picnic."
Social Justice Committee identifies and evaluates organizations to be recipients of our donation program. The committee members find local, state, national, and international organizations to receive gifts. During the past year they have focused on needs within our local community. They will now add the national and international component to charitable outreach by screening applicants for the Faith Weaver's Endowment Fund donations.
Student Outreach coordinates with Rev. Charlie Farnum of the Wesley Center , to plan and implement student outreach activities. We have formed a joint Program Planning Committee with members at the Wesley Center . This committee organizes student participation in community outreach activities. By serving others we hope students will bond together and help one another find the place religion plays in their life choices.
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