---

Parishioners and prayer group members at St. Mary's Church in Ballston Spa place a lot of value on the parish's annual May Day crowning Mass:

•  They recruit two recent First Communicants - one male, one female - to coronate one statue of Mary with a wreath of flowers and another statue with an ornate gold crown, which a young parishioner carefully carries on a pillow.

•  They wave papal and American flags and banners dedicated to the mother of God, set carnations before statues of Mary and Joseph and hand out rosaries and brown scapulars.

•  They make sure a different priest celebrates the special Mass every year.

Processions at the event often include Knights of Columbus councils and Scouting groups in addition to parishioners and members of the Our Lady of Peace prayer group, which plans the special liturgies. The prayer group secures donations of red roses for the group's living members and white roses for its deceased ones, advertises the event and offers rosaries, scapulars and Catholic literature to those in attendance.

The celebration attracts up to 200 people from St. Mary's and nearby parishes.

"It's something special," said Josephine Uhlinger, a prayer group leader who oversees a lot of the logistics behind the crowning.

After they process in, members of prayer groups from St. Mary's and Immaculate Conception in Glenville sing Marian hymns and hold "wands" of silk flowers to form an arch for the congregation to walk under.

"The children and the young adults learn," Mrs. Uhlinger continued. "You just feel happy [and] wonderful."

The feast recognizes Mary as queen of heaven and earth: "It's her day," said Mrs. Uhlinger. "It's for Our Lady, the mother of God. I think she's very happy and she smiles down from heaven."

Elise Markham, another member of the Our Lady of Peace prayer group and a catechist at St. Mary's, said she always feels "moved to tears" when standing in the arch and singing such tunes as "Hail, Holy Queen" and "Ave Maria."

"Every year, it's just such a moving experience for me to show Our Lady respect and to show the importance she has in the Catholic Church," Mrs. Markham said. "It brings all different generations together."

Mrs. Markham's daughter was one of the crowners last year: "She loved it."

The May crowning is all about "acknowledging Mary as the mother of God and our mother - and May is her month," she added. "It's taking special time out to praise her." [[In-content Ad]]

---