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

pete.masengale@gmail.com

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