Kelly Meraw – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

“One Body, One Family” A Reflection for the Feast of the Holy Family

By Kelly Meraw for the BUILD THE FAITH BLOG

This reflection is being penned the day after another horrific mass shooting; innocent people murdered and wounded, parents left reeling, and students left with a life-long trauma that no surgeon could bind up. Yet another atrocity in a country so accustomed to gun violence that we have settled for it as an unchangeable reality. It’s unlikely this event will persevere in the headlines past the obligatory 72-hour news cycle. Our level of grief and outrage can simply not be sustained now that we’ve collectively resigned ourselves to living like this, deciding meaningful reform is unachievable…

Good Samaritan

A Reflection by Kelly Meraw, Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, from the Build the Faith blog

Our Catholic lectionary recently brought us to this familiar dusty spot, on a hot and dangerous stretch of road. While the story itself is familiar and its message unequivocal, we see irrefutable evidence all around us that the Christian community still struggles with the concept of Love of Neighbor.

It seems clear, doesn’t it? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, being, strength and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself…

Collaborative featured in WCVB report: “How Pope Francis changed the lives of these Massachusetts residents”

On Monday, April 21, following the announcement of Pope Francis’ death, WCVB5 Boston produced a report on local reaction to the news – Catholics across Massachusetts mourn pope, praise groundbreaking papacy.

As part of that report, WCVB reporter Ted Wayman reached out to Kelly Meraw, our Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, for a video segment: How Pope Francis changed the lives of these Massachusetts residents which appeared on the evening news broadcasts.

They spoke in particular about the Holy Father’s special connection with young people, and about our Collaborative’s pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Portugal in 2023.

Tuesday, March 11: “Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Perspectives on Deaconesses”

7:00-8:30pm on Zoom
Conversations about renewing the ancient order of deaconess are lively in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches today. This event will compare the two conversations, with an eye to what is shared and what is different in terms of each church’s history, ecclesiology, and the intended roles for deaconesses today.

February 4: Evening for Women Program – “The Nameless Women of Mark’s Gospel” with Kelly Meraw

February 4: <i>Evening for Women</i> Program – “The Nameless Women of Mark’s Gospel” with Kelly Meraw

All women of our Collaborative are invited to our first Evening for Women of 2025!

As we continue to explore our theme, “Women in Scripture and the Church”, our Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, Kelly Meraw, will explore “The Nameless Women of Mark’s Gospel.” Come and enjoy an evening of reflection and prayer and see afresh the impactful faith of these women in scripture.

Bring a friend and a dish to share for a potluck to follow! Please RSVP…

Updates from the November 19 School Committee Meeting: Vote Postponed to December 10, New Models Being Considered

Our Pastor, Fr. Jim, and Kelly Meraw, our Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, have both spoken at recent School Committee meetings to explain the centrality of Good Friday in Christian belief and worship. We are grateful to all who have taken the time to share their thoughts with the School Committee, both during public comment and via email…

Thank you for recognizing that while we are speaking on behalf of our own Catholic Christian community, we are also in solidarity with the other faith/cultural communities involved in this discussion. In particular, we want to thank our high school students and the students from other faith/cultural traditions who spoke so eloquently about their own personal faith journeys and practices…

Update: Good Friday and the Wellesley Public Schools Academic Calendar

As we explained in last week’s bulletin, the WPS Academic Calendar Task Force has presented a recommended option to the School Committee that retains Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Lunar New Year as holidays. It also adds either Eid Al-Fitr or Eid Al-Adha (depending on the year) and removes Good Friday and Diwali as holidays.

Kelly Meraw, our Director of Pastoral Care and Liturgy, spoke at the School Committee meeting on October 29.

Fr. Jim Laughlin, our pastor, hopes to speak at the meeting on November 12.

All are encouraged to share comments with the School Committee via email at: School_Committee@wellesleyps.org or during the public comment…

This Thursday, September 12: Wellesley Interfaith Lay Dialogue Event: “Synodality: A Language of Listening”

This Thursday, September 12: <i>Wellesley Interfaith Lay Dialogue</i> Event: “Synodality: A Language of Listening”

In late April, Temple Beth Elohim hosted a beautiful night of Shabbat services and interfaith sharing. Members of faith communities throughout the Wellesley community were invited to worship together and hear reflections from representative clergy. From that beautiful event the idea for an interfaith lay ministry arose. Members of various congregations met together and formed the Wellesley Interfaith Lay Dialogue – WILD – whose aim is to explore opportunities for lay conversation and collaboration.

Our first event, facilitated by Kelly Meraw, will be held on Thursday, September 12 at 7:00pm at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley. The topic of the evening’s dialogue will be “Synodality: A Language of Listening”…

Wellesley Interfaith Lay Dialogue (WILD)

From that beautiful event the idea for an interfaith lay ministry arose. Members of various congregations met together and formed WILD (Wellesley Interfaith Lay Dialogue), whose aim is to explore opportunities for lay conversation and collaboration.

Our first event, facilitated by Kelly Meraw, will be held on Thursday, September 12 at 6:00PM at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley. The topic of the evening’s dialogue will be “Synodality: A Language of Listening”…

Kelly Meraw Preaching for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene on “Catholic Women Preach”

Please take a few moments to watch Kelly’s reflection on the readings for July 22, the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene.

Kelly reminds us of Mary’s deep listening to Jesus’ call, and her courage and perseverance in answering his call to “go and tell.”

“He is here. He is alive. He is speaking to us. And we’ve got to tell everyone!”

Click the Play button below to watch the video –