The Clergy of Mother Seton Parish Looking on during the groundbreaking ceremony for our new church: (front row) Deacon Enright, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Deacon Vita, and Deacon Cooper; (back row) Rev. Charles V. Antonicelli (Secretary to the Cardinal), Fr. Potts, Fr. AJ, and Msgr. (Fr.) Hurley, our founding Pastor. Deacon Cooper has since moved to North Carolina. Rev. Mark W. Ervin Pastor 924-3838 ext. 208 Rev. Evelio Menjivar Parochial Vicar 924-3838 ext. 211 Rev. Paul Nguyen Parochial Vicar 924-3838 ext. 221 Rev. Mr. Timothy Enright Deacon 924-3838, ext. 282 Rev. Mr. William Vita Deacon 924-3838, ext. 284 .  About Our Clergy, Past and Present Mother Seton Parish Warmly Welcomes our new Pastor, Fr. Mark Ervin! Read Fr. Ron's farewell note and Fr. Mark's letter to the parish. Fr. Mark Ervin became pastor here at Mother Seton Parish in October, 2007, following his five years as pastor of St. George Church in Valley Lee, MD. A native of Maryland, Fr. Mark converted to the Catholic faith in 1980. Soon after, he began nine years of training for the priesthood starting at Loyola College in Baltimore, and then on to Charles Borromeo Seminary near Cleveland, where he received B.A. degree, with majors in both English and Philosophy. From there he traveled to Rome, where he entered North American College. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1990 with an M.A. in ecumenical theology from Rome's University of St. Thomas Aquinas, finally culminating in his ordination to the Archdiocese of Washington same year. In addition to his service as pastor at St. George parish, he has served as Associate Pastor at Little Flower (Bethesda), St. Mary's (Piscataway) and St. Bartholomew's (Bethesda) parishes. A hallmark of Fr. Mark's priesthood has been his been his long involvement in ecumenical and interreligious activities. He has often been invited as guest speaker at such places as the Wildacres Interreligious Institute, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville and many local Protestant churches. While serving at St. Bartholomew's, he established their Interreligious and Ecumenical Committee. In his time off, Father Mark enjoys surfing, skiing, photography and music. He owns a fourteen year-old dog, Carina, which has been with him since his days as Associate Pastor at St. Mary's. He is a member of the Southern Maryland Golden Retrievers Rescue and while living in Saint Mary's County, he fostered serveral dogs from the Rescue until they were finally adopted. [ Added May, 2008] The Men of Emmeus Catholic men's group of St. Martin's parish in Gaithersburg invited Fr. Mark last January to speak on vocations and his becoming a priest. His talk was recorded on mp3 format, which can be listened to or downloaded here: Fr.MarkErvin-JourneytoPriesthood.mp3. St. Martin's is Fr. Mark's home parish. Fr. Evelio Menjivar, Prochial Vicar, joined Mother Seton Parish immediately following his ordination in May, 2004. Born in Nueva Trinidad, El Salvador, he immigrated to the United States in 1990, worked as a painter and was an Hispanic youth minister at St. Mark parish in Hyattsville before attending college seminary at St. John Vianney College Seminary and then completing his theology studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. Prior to his ordination, he spent the a year in pastoral ministry at St. Catherine Laboure parish in Wheaton, MD. Fr. Paul Nguyen, Prochial Vicar, came to Mother Seton in June, 2007 following his ordination in May. He was born in Tan Hiep, Kien Giang, Vietnam and arrived in the United States at age 11 after several attempts at leaving Vietnam, including a year by himself in an orphanage and refugee camp in Thailand before he was reunited with his family in California. Fr. Paul attended the University of California at Irvine and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. His original home parish was Our Lady of Vietnam in Silver Spring. Read Fr. Paul 's "Meet the Seminarian" [PDF ] column from the Fall, 2006, diocesan newsletter Vocation News. Our Clergy Alumni About Fr. Ron Potts' arrival in 2000: Laughter aids the healing process. Upbeat pastor takes over at Mother Seton. Germantown Gazette, October 11, 2000 Cardinal Hickey names Fr. Ronald Potts as pastor for Mother Seton Parish, Gazette.net article: New Mother Seton pastor named . Always in Our Hearts and Prayers: Please Note: Monsignor Thomas Wells, our pastor for an all too brief 17 months, died tragically on June 8, 2000. Our special online memorial to Fr. Wells can be found at: We Remember Fr. Wells. (Photo at left copyright the Gazette Newspapers, used here with permission.) Group photo of our clergy alumni, taken for our 25th Anniversary Mass in 1999, from left to right: Father Aaron Joseph Cote, Fr. Larry Donohoo, (former MSP parishioner), Fr. Jeffrey Defeyette, Fr. Paul Lavin, Msgr. Leonard Hurley, His Eminence James Cardinal Hickey, Msgr. Thomas Wells, Fr. Milton Jordan, Fr. Raymond Fecteau, Fr. Barry Knestout (sec. to Cardinal Hickey). Past Mother Seton Parish Clergy Where are they now? . Fr. Leonard Hurley, Pastor 1974-1987 Rev. Msgr. Leonard F. Hurley, Rector Cardinal O’Boyle Residence 1150 Varnum St., NE P.O. Box 29206 Washington, DC 20017 Fr. Paul Lavin, Pastor 1987-1991 Rev. Paul Lavin c/o the Vicar General Archdiocese of Washington PO Box 29260 Washington, DC 20017-0260 Fr. Milton Jordan, S.J, Pastor 1991-1999 Rev. Milton Jordan, S.J Pastor, Our Lady of Victory 4835 MacArthur Boulevard, NW Washington, DC 20007  Phone: 202-337-4835 Fr. Thomas Wells, deceased, Pastor 1999-2000 Fr. Ron Potts, Pastor 2000-2007 Rev. Ronald Potts Pastor, Sacred Heart Church 201 St. Mary's Ave. P.O. Box 1390 LaPlata MD 20646-1390 Phone (301) 934-2261 Others who have served at Mother Seton Parish . Fr. Mathew Punchayil, Associate Pastor (2002-2004)* Our Lady of the Visitation 14200 Darnestown Rd. Darnestown, MD 20874 (301-948-5536) *Fr. Mathew came to us from Glen Cove, NY, in November 2002. He is a priest of the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago and will also provide pastoral care for the Syro-Malabar Catholics in the Washington area. Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote, O.P. (MSP Associate Pastor 2000-2002; Associate, School of Religion 199?-2002 ) Rev. Aaron Joseph Cote, O.P. c/o Dominican Province of St. Joseph Provincial Office: 141 East 65th Street New York, NY 10021 Fr. Raymond Lelii (MSP Associate Pastor 1998-2000) Rev. Raymond Lelii, S.J. St. Elizabeth Parish 917 Montrose Road Rockville, MD 20852 301-881-1380 Fr. Jeffrey Defayette (MSP Associate Pastor 1992-1998 ) Rev. Jeffrey Defayette, Pastor Saint Matthias the Apostle Catholic Church 9475 Annapolis Road Lanham, Maryland 20706-3020 Telephone: 301-459-4814 Fr. Raymond L Fecteau (MSP Associate Pastor, June, 1988 - November, 1990) Rev. Raymond L Fecteau, Pastor Our Lady of the Visitation 14200 Darnestown Rd. Darnestown, MD 20874 301-948-5536 Deacon Bob Huber (left 2006) Robert and Lois Huber 7943 Mortland Dr. Clinton, WA 98236 360-579-1394 Deacon Phil Cooper (left 2002) The Copper Family (Phil and Kathy) 4701 Pine Glen Ct. Greensboro, NC 27410 336-643-6843 SEASONS OF LOVE - tempo loosely borrowed from the musical RENT- Seven million three hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred minutes... Seven million three hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred moments so dear...how do you measure our life in this parish...in horseshoes, in CCD nights, in hellos and welcomes! in fears, in tears, in help and salvation. Seven million three hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred minutes how do you measure our life in this parish...how about LOVE!!! Love from all of you...in friendships, in caring, in support, in growing from ashes. Building a life of LOVE. Seven million three hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred minutes, Seven million three hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred minutes journeys we've shared, Seven million three hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred minutes how do you measure the life of this woman and man? In ordinations, in baptisms, in marriages we shared...in sacraments, in changes, in tragedy and death, in coping, in growing, in living and loving the lives of our friends. Seven million three hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred minutes, Seven million three hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred minutes to remember...in auctions, in car washes, in slave auctions, in 10K runs...in yard sales, in raffles, in tootsie rolls and Knights of glory...in youth choir, in stations, in baccalaureate and youth lectors too...in RCIA, in baptism prep, and the moving of chairs. Though its time now to move on, this story never ends, lets celebrate and remember a lifetime of friends - Talk about LOVE! Remember the LOVE! Spread Christ's LOVE! Phil, Kathy, Jennifer & Alex Cooper 4701 Pine Glen Ct. Greensboro, NC 27410 336-643-6843 [06/16/02]   See also our Parish History (to be updated)