Dear Little Flower Students and Parents,

If we have not met already, my name is Fr. Tom Robertson, and I am the new Parochial Vicar here at Little Flower. I am excited to begin my time here, and I look forward to working with you to build up our parish’s High School Ministry. For a few years now, the challenges of the pandemic have prevented our parish from being able to offer a consistent ministry for high school students. However, beginning this Fall we intend to return to a regular and reliable program. With the support of our pastor, Msgr. Vaghi, and with the help of our excellent coordinator, Linda Kueter, it is with great anticipation that we offer you the following program starting this Fall.

Outline of our new High School Ministry program:

Consistent Mass and social hour on Sunday evenings, 6:00 pm. in the meeting room under the parish offices. This concept was previously known as ‘MASH’ and it has strong roots in our parish history. The Social will consist of bonfires, guest speakers, and normally some kind of dinner food along with desserts. 2022 Fall ‘MASH’ Schedule:

Fall Start Date: August 28th with an Italian dinner.
Every Sunday in September, October, and November.
December 4th, 11th, concluding on the 18th for Christmas.

This Mass is only for high school students. Our intention is not to separate families for Mass, but rather to offer students the
opportunity to make an independent and solid commitment to their Catholic values and Sunday Mass obligation. In one to
four years, we expect most of our students to leave for college, and we want to help them to build up the habit and devotion
to the sacraments of the Church, while they still have the full support of their families and home parish.

Other program events in addition to our regular ‘MASH’ & expectations:

Social Events: trip to Nationals Park, Adventure Park, Bowling Nights, Fall-themed excursions, indoor laser tag, a trip to
Hershey Park and more. We are also looking at teaming up with neighboring parishes for events and tournaments.
Service Events: It is our desire to live our Lord’s mandate to help the poor, and to help with high school service hour
requirements. We are currently looking to schedule parish service days, and service events through the Lourdes Soup
Kitchen, Missionaries of Charity, Catholic Charities, and the possibility of a larger service trip.
Large Program Events: this year we are also hoping to restart or begin our involvement in larger programs such as: March
for Life, Mount2000, Lifeteen Camp Covecrest, and possibly even World Youth Day with Pope Francis.

Two key expectations: First, every aspect of what we do is intended to benefit the spiritual and human formation of each
student. Second, the safety of students will always be one of our highest priorities. All adults present (staff, clergy,
chaperones, and volunteers) are expected to live by Catholic values and to be in compliance with the standards of the parish
and of the Archdiocese of Washington, including VIRTUS certification and open communications protocol.

As we begin this new program, we hope that our students will be able to get their work done early on Sunday nights to join us, and we hope that their parents will be able join us in supporting them. If there are any questions or concerns at any point, please do not hesitate to contact me at youthministry@lfparish.org or 301-320-4538 x 125. Please know of my sincere prayers for you and your family,


In Christ,

Fr. Tom Robertson
Parochial Vicar at Little Flower Parish