Welcoming spirit marks Our Lady of Grace’s 50-year history

No one at Our Lady of Grace in Parkton, when asked about their parish’s special character, uses the phrase “radical hospitality.”

But it’s what they aggressively practice through social activities. They’re designed as different ways to encourage visitors to join.

The post-Mass coffee hour on Sunday is called Holy Grounds. On monthly Friday evenings, the Sunset Socials have drawn up to 80 people. On monthly Saturdays after the 5 p.m. Mass, there’s Grace Our Table, with refreshments and light appetizers.

Coordinating all of this is Michele Kesler, 72, who heads the hospitality ministry. 

“I think the thing that most struck me was how accepting they were,” she said. “We really made friends quickly,” she said of herself and husband Bob, 76.

“After attending Mass there a couple of times, I remember coming home and telling my husband Bob (who was Methodist then) that I finally hit the trifecta – I found a parish with a great pastor (Monsignor Michael Schleupner, temporary administrator then), a great deacon (Deacon Jim Prosser), and a great music.” Bob was eventually confirmed there in 2022.

Under the leadership and dedication of Bob Carrell and Michelle Stead, Holy Grounds was so successful, the Sunset Socials were spawned. 

“Since these socials were not tied to any religious service at church, we doubted that many people would show up,” Kesler said. “Much to our surprise, we had 50 people attend (last) May, and our numbers increased with each succeeding social.”

“I’m past 70 and I’m going to church and having fun,” Bob marveled. “Can you believe that?”

Parishioners of Our Lady of Grace are celebrating their parish’s 50th anniversary this year, and rejoicing in the welcoming spirit that has long marked their faith community. 

“It’s very robust,” Father Ferdinand Ezenwachi, the temporary administrator who becomes pastor July 1, says of the welcoming activities. “You can see that as soon as you enter. Another thing I’ve witnessed here is that the members are so interested in service to the community.”

Father Ezenwachi also praised the diversity of skills “to move the parish forward.”

“The spirit is there,” he said. “The spirit to give for the cause of the parish. It’s very contagious.”

The Archdiocese of Baltimore designated what was originally called “St. Hereford” as a stand-alone parish March 28, 1974. The first priest, Monsignor Edward Lynch, held weekly Masses at Hereford High School, with a small organ transported to the school each Sunday in a pickup truck, for the next 10 years.

Ground was broken for the current edifice in Parkton and the parish was renamed Our Lady of Grace in 1984; it opened the following year. An elementary school for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade operated for several years and now serves strictly as a pre-school with a current enrollment of about 115. The manor hall was built in 1997 and Cardinal William H. Keeler dedicated a large parish center in September 2000.

There are currently 538 registered families.

For its 50th anniversary, the parish is engaged in a $250,000 capital campaign for upgrades.

Upcoming events include a June 6 golf tournament, and a celebratory Mass Sept. 14 with Archbishop William E. Lori and about 20 priests who have served the parish in past years. The parish is also buying a new tabernacle for the sanctuary and a bronze set of Stations of the Cross for the main worship space.

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