In 2006 a core group of women came together to form the interdenominational Military Moms Prayer Group, praying for their sons who were serving in or about to serve in Iraq. The initial group, all with strong connections to Saint Edward’s School, was made up of Pam Proctor, Margy Kulczycki, Linda Colontrelle, Gail Reams and Michele Scales. Their sons – Michael Proctor and Scott Reams, Marine Corps; Garrett Kulczycki, Navy; and Danny Colontrelle, Army – had all graduated in 1998 from St. Ed’s, where Scales and Kulczycki teach and where Colontrelle had served as a dean.
“I had a sense that God was nudging me to start a prayer group,” said Proctor. “And when I saw Margy at Publix I asked her if she wanted to start one. She immediately said yes and the need has continued to grow.”
That strong base of continuous support has grown into a community-wide movement to back our service men and women through prayer, care packages and letters. The group meets at 5 p.m. every Thursday at Christ Church in Vero Beach and is open to everyone.
“The feeling I got when I went into that prayer group that very first time was like a weight that was on my shoulders was now shared with all these other women and was lifted,” said Lynne Marie Saint-Vincent, who has two military sons. Bryce currently serves in the Air Force and Austin is a Navy veteran. “It was nothing short of miraculous.”
Last Thursday evening the group hosted a Cinco de Mayo party at the home of Linda Colontrelle to thank members of the community who have supported their efforts. Numerous businesses have participated in their Holidays for Heroes outreach to the troops, opening their stores as holding centers for the many boxes filled and sent overseas during the holidays and offering financial support for postage costs. Representatives of the businesses were given small decoratively wrapped bottles of sand that had been collected by Proctor from the beach at Normandy.
Remembering their first Christmas mailing, then known as Treats for the Troops, Colontrelle said, “The whole community came together full force. The postage alone cost us $13,000 but this community came through for us.”
The packages are sent to the sons and daughters of the group who then distribute them to others in their units, particularly those who don’t receive any mail or packages from home.
“They all share and go through the packages and then pass them on to others,” said Kulczycki. “They are all such brothers. We have received thank-you letters from them and they are just so gracious and so grateful.”
St. Edward’s students were the first to tuck personalized notes into the boxes, an activity now joined by all the schools in the county.
“They’re humorous, they’re whimsical. It’s kids talking about what’s in their hearts,” said Colontrelle.
“They absolutely love the letters from the kids and they hang them all over the walls of their tents to remind them of home,” said Jennifer Budde. “My son Michael was in Afghanistan. It is so special for them to get them during the holidays but also when it is not a special occasion, so they know that they are being thought of all the time.”
“They don’t want to be forgotten. It warms their hearts just knowing that people are reaching out to them,” said Kulczycki. “When you pray as a group it is very powerful. We lift these soldiers up and it gives us comfort too and changes our worry into hope.”
The occasion also introduced a new slate of officers, with Proctor, who has served as president since the group’s forming, turning over the reins to Colontrelle.
