Margaret ‘Margie’ Meyers remembered for skill at pastoral planning

Margaret “Margie” Meyers, a longtime parishioner of St. Peter parish in Westernport and a force in Catholic faith formation and pastoral planning in Western Maryland, died March 10 at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., following a brief illness with a neuromuscular disorder. She was 65.

Born in Cumberland, she graduated from Bishop Walsh High School in Cumberland and LaSalle University in Philadelphia. After college, Meyers became director of religious education at St. Peter.

She had been director of mission at Divine Mercy parish in Frostburg since 2018.  

That parish formed in 2016 when St. Michael in Frostburg, St. Ann in Grantsville, St. Joseph in Midland and St. Peter in Westernport came together as a single faith community. Today, Divine Mercy counts nearly 1,000 registered families.

From 2010-18, she was director of faith formation at Good Shepherd parish in State College, Pa., and from 1989 to 2010, she was a regional director of Catholic Education Ministries of Western Maryland, where she developed faith formation programs until that organization closed.

In 2015, she earned a master’s degree in leadership and organization from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.

Bishop Adam J. Parker, celebrant at her March 20 funeral Mass at St. Peter and Meyer’s friend of 25 years, said Myers was always ahead of her time.  

“She was progressive in the best sense of the word in that she wanted our Catholic faith to be as accessible to as many people as possible, especially to the young,” Bishop Parker said. “She was passionate about collaboration and therefore wanted to be sure that all voices had the opportunity to be heard. She truly practiced synodality long before it was a thing.”

With Myers’ support, Bishop Parker said, parish planning in Mountain Maryland moved forward many years ago, “resulting in an enhanced utilization of resources for the purpose of spreading the Gospel.”

Meyers was one of the first people the bishop  met when he arrived in Westernport just weeks after his ordination to the priesthood 25 years ago. 

“She taught me a lot about ministry, especially in those early days,” he said. “She and her entire family welcomed me into their home frequently for holidays and other special celebrations.”

Julie St. Croix, current Director of the Office of Parish Renewal for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and a former coordinator of pastoral leadership formation, has counted Myers among her friends for many years. 

“I had the privilege of being a co-worker with Margie and collaborating with her as she and the leadership at Divine Mercy parish did their pastoral planning,” St. Croix said. “Margie was fantastic at process and our work together in planning for her parish changed how we do planning with parishes now. It was a synodal planning process before we started using that word to describe prayerful listening.”

Father Edward Hendricks, retired pastor of Divine Mercy, invited Meyers to join Divine Mercy in 2017. He had known her since her senior year of high school in 1977 when she was part of a contemporary music group at St. Peter. 

“Faith was very important to her,” he observed.

So were organizational skills. As small rural parishes became difficult to remain viable, Meyers led a task force that resulted in Allegany and Garrett counties going from 12 parishes and one mission to three parishes – two in Allegany, one in Garrett.

“She really knew planning inside and out,” Father Hendricks said. “She knew process better than anyone I ever met.”

Meyers’ related talent, he said, was to “get people to say how they felt and what they believed. She was a visionary in terms of how we can best serve the people of our region and not by getting bogged down by bureaucracy.”

For several years, Meyers and Father Hendricks led workshops for new pastors at St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park.

Meyers is survived by her mother Mary, of Westernport; sister Kay Duckworth (Harry) of Lemont, Pa.; a niece, a nephew, and a number of aunts, uncles and cousins.

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