News from the Pews V O L U M E 1 6 , I S S U E 1 A Bit of...
Transcript of News from the Pews V O L U M E 1 6 , I S S U E 1 A Bit of...
Our updated version of NFTP will be pub-
lished monthly on the St Mark website,
www.stmarkindy.org, and a limited num-
ber of paper copies will be made and post-
It’s been 25 years since St. Mark’s pastor,
Fr. Richard Lawler, enlisted Bill Kennedy
to start the first parish newsletter. When
Bill moved out of the parish, Father asked
Patty Schmalz to step in as editor. She
was joined by reporters Sharon Smay
(now Sharon Gillaspy) and Kurt Kreise
initially.
In November of 1989 the newsletter an-
nounced a contest to find a less generic
title for the monthly publication. Mark Van
Auken submitted “News from the Pews”
winning a St. Mark sweatshirt as his prize.
A few months later, Dr. Joe Daly, our
resident pediatrician, already a cartoonist
for the southside newspaper The Spotlight,
offered to add a one-panel sketch to the
mix. The cartoon featured a devilish angel
named Marky and his take on parish life.
Eventually Marky became part of the mast
head and remained until the newsletter
was discontinued in 2003.
Popular columns through the years were
The Church Lady, featuring Q&A’s on
parish life, Parish Personality, later called In
Focus, and Welcome to St. Mark, an intro-
duction of newcomers.
For the second year, Mary Masengale, a
parish leader for St. Mark’s Sister Circle,
has organized parish bicycle riders (*) for
recreation and fundraising at the annual
Hope Ride. Affectionately renamed the
Corn and Cow Ride, the event offers par-
ticipants logs of fresh air, country scenery,
music, lunch, camaraderie and a chance to
win $1000 for their local food bank. St.
Mark riders were attempting to earn cash
for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in
Indianapolis. Five different rides were
offered from 13 to 100 miles. This year,
with an effort to expand beyond parish
boundaries, Mary invited parishes from
other south side parishes and the north
side to join us. The extra effort paid off
with several more riders than last year.
A Bit of History
2014 Hope Ride
News from the Pews D E C D E M B E R 1 6 L , 2 0 1 4 V O L U M E 1 6 , I S S U E 1
P A G E 2
How to Get an Article into NFTP
Eight Things You Don’t Know About Andy Eagan and the Music Ministry at St Mark 1. How do you pick the mu-
sic for the Masses? I start two
to three months in advance of the
Mass. I review the first and sec-
ond readings and the Gospel.
Then I usually visit websites and
other references to determine
what kind of songs will go with
them. I then make sure the songs
are ones we at St Mark know.
Once I get settled on a song, I
make sure we don’t sing the
same song too often in a period
of time. Sometimes for new
songs, I may have to order it in
August, so we can get it in Sep-
tember, so the choirs can prac-
tice it for a Mass in November.
2. Isn’t this something like
you do with a band you play
in? Yes it is. I want people to
come to the Masses. The music
has to appeal to all types of peo-
ple: Old and young, cradle Cath-
olics and Catechumens.
3. What is it you’re trying to
do with the music? Music
should enhance the Liturgy. Only
enhance it. Never distract from
it. The Psalm should never over-
whelm the readings
4. What’s the hardest Mass-
es to find music for? The end
of the Church year—Christ the
King. These readings are of
death, fire and other ugly things.
“Warm and fuzzy” are not
themes for these readings
5. And the easiest? Advent
and Lent. They’re my favorite
times of the Church year. The
readings are rich and deep.
There’s a lot of good material for
those Masses
6. You’ve got many different
choirs. Why? The choirs allow
the congregation to enjoy the
music even if they don’t sing.
When you hear the choir sing “In
Christ Alone” or “Eye Has not
Seen” or “Panis Angelicus”, how
can you not be moved? Jesus is
right there—Let him out (Andy
pounded his chest when he said
that last part)
7. Do you ever get together
other Music Directors to
share? Yes. I see other Music
Directors around time all the
time. Once a year, there’s a Na-
tional Associate of Pastoral Musi-
cians conference that I try to get
to if possible. It was easy to do
that when the conference was
here in Indy. At these confer-
ences, the musicians and compos-
ers sell their songs to us. It’s a
great way to see new things we
can do.
8. What did Jerry think
about the job you’re doing
here at St Mark (Note: Jerry is
Jerry Craney, the long-time Music
Director at Holy Name who was
Andy’s first music teacher)? I
asked him once. Jerry told me I
took what he created and made it
different.
How do you get it into NFTP?
Submit it to us at News from
the Pews and we’ll do our best
So your group is doing some-
thing around St Mark that you
want to tell others about.
to get it into the next issue.
Simply email it
N E W S F R O M T H E P E W S
#StMarkThanks
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 6 , I S S U E 1
House for dinner and Bible study. We’ve
discussed the Gospel of John in the past,
and now we’re on the Acts of the Apos-
tles.
Although we get great joy from reflecting
on scripture together, we also take time
to get together outside of the parish as
well. Whether it be at Theology on Tap
or other activities arranged by Archdio-
cese, at Operation Leftover helping dis-
tribute much needed items to the home-
less of Indianapolis, or most recently at
Tuttle Orchards enjoying the arrival of
fall, we always have a great time in each
others’ company. We’ve grown to be
like a family, always, able to count on
each other for support and prayer no
Are you Monday nights dull, devoid of
scripture and company, or lackluster in
any other manner? If you’re in your 20s
or 30s and interested in getting more
involved in St. Mark, then the Young
Adult Group is for you! We meet every
Monday night at 6:30pm at the Cenacle
matter what life throws at us. We’re
always eager to bring new people into
the mix, so don’t hesitate to join us on
Mondays or a an assuredly rewarding
evening of food, fun, and most important-
ly, faith.
Van Peng Thang &
Mary Van, children –
John Rai Sen
Joseph & Amanda Dransfield,
child – Alexandra
Alison Barnett, chil-
dren- Ethan, Emma
Welcome to the Parish
St. Mark Young Adults Keep Faith Fun
“Back to Woodstock” parish dance.
The parish hired architect Kevin
Callahan for the new building pro-
ject.
23 years ago…
Mike and Miki Lewinski organized
100 volunteers for refurbishing the
entire school.
26 years ago…
Ms. Eva Corsaro was hired as St.
Mark’s full-time Youth Minister.
25 years ago…
The Parish Pastoral Council began
planning for our first Ministry Fair.
24 years ago…
Tim Horty and Marcia DiGiusto
were crowned king and queen of
A Look Back
Our school’s Amazing Race to end hunger collected over 12,000 food items with 98.6% of
our students and staff participating in the food drive. The three food banks that we gave our
food to was: Officer David Moore Food Pantry in Fountain Square, Hunger Inc. on Epler Ave,
and Little Sisters of the Poor Catholic Charities.
Our Advent service project will be our middle school “Giving Tree" where our middle school
students purchase presents for under privileged children and adults and we will also be
participating in a hat and glove drive in grades Pre-K through 5.
Our St. Mark Catholic School robotics team won the "Sportsmanship award" at the recent
VEX Mayors robotics challenge at Bankers Life Field House! The team did an excellent with
their robot and showing great spirit at the competition!
The SMCS Quest for Excellence teams will begin practice soon for February competition at
Roncalli High School. Quest for Excellence is for South Deanery Students in grades 7 & 8 that
involves academics, fine arts, and athletics.
NFTP Staff
Pete Masengale
Pa�y Schmalz
Sue Fry
Ma� Sierp
Kris�n Casselman
Jody Cleary
Mark Maloney
SMCS (St Mark Catholic School) Happenings