Under the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, the Community is recognized as a "private association of the faithful" with its governing statutes approved by the Archbishop of Washington.
In addition the Community is a member of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (CHARIS)[2] established in the Vatican by the Holy See.
Membership is open to Christians from all walks of life – families, couples, priests, and singles, college students, seminarians, and retired people.
They began meeting daily after Mass and read the documents of Vatican II and other works about the role of the Holy Spirit in both the lives of saints and in those of ordinary people.
It is considered by many as the first prayer meeting in the Eastern part of the U.S. of the movement which would later be called the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, for it was shortly thereafter that participants began hearing about similar prayer meetings and outpourings of the Spirit in places like Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, South Bend, Indiana, Ann Arbor, Michigan and other cities.
In the mid-1970s, in order to live closer to one another in affordable homes (largely townhouses), members of the Community began to move to the newly built town of Montgomery Village, which adjoins Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The Community covenant, although revised over time, still includes a commitment to pray daily, to examine one's conscience and repent from sin, to read scripture, to attend prayer meetings regularly, to participate in MOG activities, to love and support one another, to support the Community financially according to one's means, and to do other related matters.
Members of the community include married couples, young people, older singles, housewives, priests, and consecrated religious.
As in most Catholic Charismatic groups, the primary focal point for the Community has always been the large open praise and worship meeting held weekly.
In order to provide a Catholic school for their children, in 1987 community members voted to purchase a wedge-shaped piece of land along Goshen Road on the northern perimeter of Montgomery Village.
The third level of the building was largely devoted to office space and the other two stories housed the classrooms and workspaces of the school, Kindergarten through 8th grade.
In addition it houses the Community's weekly praise and worship meeting on Sunday evenings; Encounter School of Ministry DC Campus classes; conferences; and other activities and events.
The residence, known as “Goshen House”, is the center for many community gatherings and has been the home of various lay people, priests, and consecrated religious who have felt called to live together.
After the reorganization of the Mother of God Community in 1996, offices were moved to Frederick County, Maryland and into the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
In the survey respondents spoke about the way the life in the community changed their lives, helped their families, and renewed their Catholic faith.
On Saturday, September 23, 1995, the Archdiocese of Washington announced it wanted to make changes of leadership in Mother of God Community.
However, Mass was celebrated each day in the MOG chapel and the Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Communion, Confirmation and Marriage were administered by the priests of the community.
Hickey said that because of Mother of God's pastoral practices, members were led to speak of very personal things in a manner that did not protect their right to privacy and confidentiality and which had the effect of leaving them vulnerable.
Furthermore, he requested that anyone who had personal information about other members-"in notebooks, in computer files, in whatever form, that you destroy it, lest it be the source of future embarrassment or harm."
A year later, on Wednesday, February 14, 1997, a much smaller Mother of God Community, operating under new procedures, a more democratic leadership, won formal approval from the Archdiocese of Washington.
For a number of years the Coordinator had been noted scripture scholar and consecrated lay woman Dr. Mary Healy, SSL, STL.
In June 2014 Hall Miller stepped down to become full-time President of the Mother of God School and Tom Singer, another longtime member, was elected as Coordinator in his place.
Until his passing in 2017 the Community Chaplain and Spiritual Advisor in-residence was the noted Catholic priest, scholar, author and professor, Fr.
The Mother of God Community website and weekly bulletins list and describe a variety of ministries and activities including the running of the Mother of God School (pre-K thru 8th grade); occasional Masses; Sunday night praise and worship meetings, women's groups and retreats, men's groups and retreats, children's catechesis, the Mother of God Community Home School Program, scouting programs, coordinating or facilitating seminars in Life in the Spirit or Christ's Life series, sponsoring or facilitating healing conferences with Damian Stayne from Cor et Lumen Christi Community[10] in England, hosting the Encounter School of Ministry DC Campus,[11] and other activities.