This parish organization was founded early last century as an women’s auxiliary and social society, whose purpose was raising funds to help out the parish and the Catholic school, to wash and iron altar linens, and to provide a much needed social night out for women who spent the rest of the week working tirelessly cooking, cleaning, and raising children. For decades, the Altar Rosary Society worked quietly behind the scenes. Most of our founding members are gone now, but their legacy goes on.
Today the Altar Rosary Society still helps with the altar linens, raises funds for the parish, school projects, seminarians, and other expanded good works. In the past few years we have purchased liturgical clothing for the altar servers and Eucharistic ministers, and vestments for the priests, new small appliances, extra items for the parish Religious Education Program, etc. Whenever the parish needs something that is not in the parish budget, they can make a request to our organization. Many of these purchased items benefit every parishioner directly or indirectly. We buy flowers and gifts for special occasions such as Mother’s Day, First Communion, Confirmation, May Crowning, Christmas, etc. If a parishioner passes away, and the family wants to have a luncheon at the parish hall, the Altar Rosary members provide kitchen help, desserts, paper products and coffee. More recently, we are providing live floral arrangements at the altar, and caring for the plants and live flowers, watering and keeping them looking good. We also give gifts to the CCD children, first communicants, confirmation candidates, and catechumens, and newly ordained priests, and others involved in our parish to show our appreciation. In our name one of our members has sent hundreds of greeting cards to people of our parish and community, and another runs the St. Lawrence Prayer List/Chain emailing prayer requests to praying members. All of our members pray for those on this list.
Altar Rosary Society sponsors parish projects and programs that keep our parish vibrant as well. We sponsor “Donut Sunday” held every second Sunday of the month after Mass for parish fellowship in the Church hall. Our group was instrumental in renewing the Parish Festival. Tony Nicotra came to us and the Parish Counsel and suggested we resurrect the Annual Festival as a parish social event. The Altar Rosary Society worked quickly, and spun off members forming the Parish Festival Committee along with other parishioners. Our traditional Christmas basket raffle has been displaced by our members working, planning, and organizing the festival, basket raffle, bake sale and food booths as well as working these events on the day of the Festival. Many of our members worked with the evangelization committee to put on Symbolon, including providing kitchen help. Altar Rosary members also provide much of the work force every Wednesday and fourth Saturday of the month at the St. Vincent de Paul store in Kittanning. Our newest project is the low-impact chair exercise program after weekday Masses at St. Lawrence in the church hall.
What are the benefits of being a member of the St. Lawrence Altar Rosary Society?
The most important benefit is: knowing that you are working with other women of the parish, doing so much good for our parish and parishioners. We also have a large traveling statue of Mary that members may have in their home for a month. As a spiritual work of mercy, we provide a beautiful candlelight procession/honor guard at the funeral of our members. We offer masses for close family of members and make donations to a charity in the name of deceased members. Annual social events include a festive Christmas party usually joined by our Priests, an Altar Rosary Society Picnic every August, and our regular meetings every first Thursday of the month (no meeting in January, February, and July). Meetings include a Rosary prayer, a business meeting, socializing, refreshments, as well as great fellowship and fun.
The St. Lawrence Altar Rosary Society would love to have more members! Come and join us! Our next meeting will be our picnic, so if you are interested in coming, please call for your reservation by July 30
th. For more information call: Terry Cook 724-763-9635 or email
tcook202@gmail.com.