Christian Service Coordinator
Grace Keane, OSF
Phone: (248) 243-0258

ASSESSING PARISH SOCIAL MINISTRY

The following questions are based on the framework for integrating social ministry throughout parish life contained in Communities of Salt and Light. They are designed to help pastors, parish councils, staff, committees, and other groups reflect on their parish’s social ministry. They provide an opportunity to do a general assessment that can identify both strengths and weaknesses in efforts to integrate the Church’s social mission into various aspects of parish ministry. This general assessment can lead to further discussions by those responsible for each area of ministry. There is another interesting tool to be completed online: Assessment Tool

I. Anchoring Social Ministry: Prayer and Worship

In what ways does our parish worship reflect Christ’s call to conversion, to service, and to working for justice?

1. During the liturgy, in what ways is the gospel’s call to build peace, work for justice, and care for the poor regularly reflected in the universal prayer, in homilies, in our celebrations of special feast days and holidays, and at other appropriate times?
2. How do our sacramental celebrations help us renew our commitment to reconciliation throughout our lives and rededicate ourselves to Jesus’ message of love and justice, especially for those in need?
3. What opportunities for prayer, scripture study, and reflection on our Christian vocation does our parish offer? How is our social mission incorporated into these activities?
4. In what ways are our social ministry efforts clearly rooted in Scripture and spirituality, and connected to liturgy and prayer?
5. How effectively does preaching at our parish reflect the social dimensions of our faith?

II. Sharing the Message: Preaching and Education  

1. How effectively does preaching at our parish reflect the social dimensions of our faith?
2. In what ways is our rich heritage of Catholic social teaching integrated into our school curriculum?
   • our religious education program?
   • our sacramental preparation program?
   • our Christian initiation ministry?
   • our ongoing religious formation and enrichment for adult

III. Supporting the “Salt of the Earth”: Family, Work, Citizenship

1. Sustaining Christian marriage and shaping family life around gospel values can be difficult in our culture. What concrete and practical support does our parish offer
   • to married couples and to those preparing for marriage (counsel, retreats, small faith communities)?
   • to parents (parenting skills workshops, support groups)?
2. An important opportunity for living our faith is through our work, in everyday decisions and actions, in the way we treat coworkers and customers. How does our parish support our members in practicing Christian values in the workplace?
3. In what ways are parishioners providing leadership in unions, community groups, professional associations, and political organizations? How does our parish support them as they live their faith in these leadership roles?

IV. Serving the “Least of These”: Outreach and Charity

1. In what ways is our parish serving those in need?
2. How do parishioners become aware of these opportunities for service and action?
3. How effectively have we involved our parish community in our social ministry efforts?
4. What direction do our service programs provide to our parish efforts in advocacy – in changing the conditions that create poverty and suffering?

V. Advocating for Justice: Legislative Action  

1. How does our parish help parishioners become better informed on public policy issues that impact the poor and vulnerable?
2. In what ways do we encourage our members to become more active citizens, exercising their right to vote and participating in public life?
3. What opportunities does our parish provide for parishioners to speak and act effectively in the public arena on behalf of the poor and vulnerable, to bring our values to debates about local, national, and international policies and priorities?
4. How effectively have we involved our parish community in advocacy efforts?

VI. Creating Community: Organizing for Justice  

1. What community organizations exist in our local community or diocese?
2. How is our parish participating in or supporting such efforts?

VII. Building Solidarity: Beyond Parish Boundaries  

In what ways does our parish provide to our members information about the needs of our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and vulnerable, in other lands?

1. What links does our parish have to people, parishes, or other groups around the globe?
2. What opportunities does our parish offer us to act in solidarity on international issues?

From Communities of Salt & Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish a statement of the U. S. Catholic bishops    USCCB Website

Here is a new website for parishioners to explore the many avenues of being the hands and feet of Jesus.  We are Salt and Light

Please find time  to reflect on the following 12 Statements related to Parish Social Mission and Ministry, also known as Christian Service.

1. Social justice is an integral part of evangelization, a constitutive dimension of preaching the Gospel and an essential part of the church’s social mission.

2. The pursuit of justice and peace is an essential part of what makes a parish Catholic.

3. There has been a tremendous growth of education, outreach, advocacy and organizing in parishes. But in some parishes, the social justice dimensions of parish life are still neglected, underdeveloped or touch only a few parishioners.

4. We need to build local communities of faith where our social teaching is central, not fringe; where social ministry is integral, not optional; where it is the work of every believer, not just the mission of a few committed people and committees.

5. When social mission and ministry is an integral part of the entire parish, it is woven into every aspect of parish life: worship, formation and action.

6. Worship that does not reflect the Lord’s call to conversion, service and justice can become pious ritual and empty of the Gospel.

7. Preaching that ignores the social dimensions of our faith does not truly reflect the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

8. Our social doctrine must also be an essential part of the curriculum and life of our schools, religious education programs, sacramental preparation and Christian initiation activities.

9. Our parishes need to encourage, support and sustain lay people in living their faith in the family, neighborhood, marketplace and public arena. The most challenging work for justice is not done in church committees, but in the secular world of work, family life and citizenship.

10. Parishes are called to reach out to the hurting, the poor and vulnerable in our midst in concrete acts of charity.

11. Catholic social teaching calls us to change the structures which deny people their dignity and rights as children of God. Service and action, charity and justice are complementary components of parish social ministry. Neither alone is sufficient; both are essential signs of the Gospel at work.

12. Parishes need to promote a revived sense of political responsibility calling Catholics to be informed and active citizens, participating in the debate over the values and vision that guide our communities and nation.

For more information or to volunteer for any of these ministries, please fill out a Commitment Form and return it to the Parish Office.

Activities for Ages 5-13: Contact the CS Office to design an event or to participate in regularly scheduled outreach opportunities.

Advocacy and Education: Round Table topics and action alerts around hunger, homelessness, mental illness and issues under human life and dignity such as care for creation, human trafficking, immigration, and pro-life are profiled throughout the year. Fair Trade Sales, Shoebox Recycling, and Bread for the World are a few actions to promote social justice.

Blood Drive: Sal Trupiano and Lori Irwin shepherd the American Red Cross Blood Drives. They are usually monthly on Fridays from Noon – 6:00 PM at St. Mary’s Gym.  Dates are regularly in the Bulletin and on the parish calendar. Enter by the playground entrance, and thank you for contributing to the health of the community.

CCRT (Catholic Community Response Team): CCRT serves many including the hungry and homeless. CCRT can use our help. Their volunteers serve in the following areas. For more information on our work with CCRT, please contact Carol Benham at [email protected].

• Office volunteer staff – answer phones, schedule appointments, fill out food and clothing  order forms, greet and sign in clients, etc…

• Movers and Shakers Team – pick up food and clothing orders from LOC and deliver to office in Pontiac, help with pickups from various parishes and deliver to office, pick up donated furniture and deliver to clients.  This really means being  part of a TEAM effort so you do not work alone!

•  Project worker – work on projects involving other churches and organizations to collaborate on projects like school uniforms, a collection of toiletries, school supplies, Winter coat drives etc.

• Fundraising Team -WE are also trying to put together a small team that might help with fundraising. Anyone interested in joining that team would be worshiped and adored!

Charitable Giving Committee: Charitable Giving Committee meets every other second Monday of the month from 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.

Christian Service Commission Member: Members serve as models and resources to advance Catholic Social Teaching through works of charity and justice.  The Commission considers new ministries and celebrates current ones.  Monthly meetings from September through June.

Funeral Lunch Ministry: Funeral Luncheon Volunteer Information

Giving Tree:   Help coordinate gifts between our parish and people in need in our community. Duties include phone calls, creating labels, setting up/placing cards on trees, and sorting the gifts as they come in.

Interchurch Women: Members meet on the first Monday morning of each month held at local churches in the Rochester community.   They support as their ministries Neighborhood House, Clothes Closet, and Pantry Shelf.

Knit and Crochet Ministry: A gathering of women who make items for those in need, or are facing a crisis. Meetings are the 2nd Thursday of the month from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM and 7:00 PM-9:00 PM

Meal Share-We Care: Provide meals, on a temporary basis, to people who are going through a difficult time.

Neighborhood House Representative: Neighborhood House is a nonprofit human service organization founded by communities of faith assisting our neighbors during times of hardship.  We partner with the community and other social service providers to help those neighbors move toward self-sufficiency.  We try to provide food, clothing, and assistance with rent, utilities,  daycare and other immediate needs. St Mary’s supports Neighborhood House through frequent tithing,  the Giving Tree Program at Christmas and allowing us to run a School Supply Program each fall.

Prayer Chain: Pray for those who are dealing with health issues or any other serious concern.

Prayer Shawl Ministry: Knit/crochet shawls to be given to parishioners who are going through a difficult time. Meets the 2nd Thursday of the month from 7-9 PM.

Respect for Life: Defending human life and promoting the dignity of the human person includes many issues and actions. Some are anti-trafficking, climate change, death penalty, domestic social development, justice-peace-and human development, migration and refugee services, pro-life activities, religious liberty. The parish has an active pro-life group.  (A more extensive list is on the USCCB website.)

St. Michaels Food Pantry: Volunteers are needed to participate in the Food Drives at St. Mary of the Hills where food is collected in the Narthex for the poor and needy families who reside in Oakland County. We hold monthly food drives and all the collected food is donated to the Food Pantry at St. Michael’s in Pontiac for distribution. Food drives are held on the first weekend of every month and each Volunteer is asked to help 2 to 3 times per year. Families, including children, are welcome and all volunteering is done at St. Mary’s church, typically 15 minutes before Mass. For further information, contact Amy Kennedy or 248-656-4957.

St. Vincent de Paul:  In the tradition of our founder Blessed Frederic Ozanam and our patron, St. Vincent de Paul, and through the generous financial support of St. Mary of the Hills, our St. Vincent de Paul Conference provides emergency (critical) assistance on a case-by-case basis to parishioners and people living within our parish boundaries who have fallen on hard times. After an assessment of their needs, assistance may be provided in the form of food, clothing, furniture, utilities, rent assistance and/or referrals to other community agencies. We are a person-to-person Catholic Ministry that sees the face of Christ in the faces of those who are suffering. All communications are confidential.

If you are in need of assistance please call our help line at 248-606-5024 and leave a message. Your call will be returned within 24 hours by one of our dedicated volunteers.

If you would like to join us in our mission to care for the poor while growing in fellowship and spirituality please phone 248-606-5024 and leave a message.

More information about SVDP can be found at http://svdpdet.org

South Oakland Shelter (SOS): Help plan and organize the week in August that St. Mary houses the homeless.

OUTREACH MINISTRIES

Stephen Ministry: Stephen Ministers are trained to be a listening presence to someone experiencing difficulty in life such as divorce, the death of a loved one, or single parenting. The Stephen Ministry has been serving St. Mary of the Hills for the past 18 years. Our Stephen Ministers have been through extensive training and provide confidentially, one-to-one Christin Care to people who are experiencing a difficult time. Click here for our Stephen Ministry page for more information!

Stephen Ministry is a well-structured program with an interviewing process at the beginning, 60 hours of training in the middle, and monthly supervision. The training focuses on eight core topics- listening, understanding feelings, assertiveness training, confidentiality, grieving, alcoholism/co-dependency, supervision and the first helping contact. Each training group is commissioned in the spring upon completion of the training.

Our outreach covers a wide variety of situations such as health problems and divorce etc. We provide listening support through weekly visits.

Sunshine Ministry: Spread “sunshine” to other parishioners by sending them cards when they are going through challenging times. All cards and postage are supplied.

Children’s Village Birthday Gifts
The Saint John the Baptist Guild at St. Mary took on this mission in about 1991 or 1992. The goal is to provide, with the help of the people of St. Mary’s a birthday gift for each child at Children’s Village. The Village is a county facility that houses children who, for one reason or another, need to be removed from the family home. We provide them with items that are requested by the Children’s Village management. These include games, articles of clothing, personal grooming items or gift certificates to local stores.

The St. John the Baptist Guild consists of 24 parishioners who have been bonded together for nearly 25 years.  The contact for this project is Gerald Turgeon.

Crossroads Pregnancy Center
Promote fundraisers for the Center.

EME to Mercy Bellbrook
Administer Eucharist to patients at Mercy Bellbrook or the homebound.

Oakland County Gleaners Food Bank
Parishioners meet here at St. Mary’s to carpool to the Oakland County Food Bank located on Columbia Street and Walton Boulevard in Pontiac to help box and package food for the needy. Families are welcome to help. We volunteer every other month.

Right to Life
Volunteers help to sell carnations on Mother’s Day weekend after all Masses and Christmas cards are sold in November following the weekend Masses.