Irene Wunderlich becomes
Youth Minister Coordinator
at St. Mary's, Hagerstown
by Judy Williams, CEM Center

As of April 11, 2006, Irene Wunderlich is the new Coordinator of Youth Activities at St. Mary’s parish in Hagerstown.  For the past six years, Fr. Robert Morey has been the youth minister for the parish.  Fr. Morey will be leaving St. Mary’s in June.  For the time being, Irene will work in conjunction with Fr. Morey, ministering to the youth of the parish enrolled in grades 6-12.

In her new position, Irene plans to expand the current program, already strong with social activities, to include community service and outreach projects for the parish teens.  Among her future plans are a service trip to Nazareth Farm in West Virginia for the older teens, as well as organizing parish youth volunteer efforts at the Hagerstown food bank.  This is in addition to the ongoing involvement of the parish teens in volunteering at Catholic Charities’ Our Daily Bread in Baltimore.   Irene is no stranger to community service, having been actively scheduling such activities for an area group of home schooling families.

A native of Washington, DC, Irene is the ninth of ten children and grew up attending Blessed Sacrament parish. She has been living in Hagerstown for the past three years.

Prior to that she and her family lived in Myersville and attended Holy Family Catholic Community in Middletown, where she was a catechist for six years.

Irene and her husband, George, have 4 children: Margaret, 19; Madeleine, 16; Alexander, 14; and Nathaniel, 12.  They are members of St. Mary’s parish.

Irene loves teaching and is looking forward to her new role within St. Mary’s.  Her experiences as a home schooling parent, former math teacher and professional catechist have well prepared for her for working with the youth of St. Mary’s.  Her enthusiasm is reflected in her choice of a favorite scripture verse, from Psalm 118:

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.

Irene echoed the sentiment of the psalm when she added, “every day is a day that the Lord has made, even crummy days!”

We are happy to welcome Irene and her ministry to Central Maryland!