General

Ministries Report: OLW Care & Outreach

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Published by

The Parish Pastoral Council met on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 7:00 pm.  Care and Outreach Ministry leaders provided updates on their status.  Despite the challenges of this pandemic, we’re happy to report that many ministries are indeed forging forward.  Below is the Care and Outreach Ministries Report from the meeting.

If you are interested in learning more about any of these ministries, please reach out to our ministry leaders who are always looking for #DifferenceMakers to join their teams.  The need for discipleship is great, especially in these challenging times.

MINISTRY REPORTS:

Knights of Columbus:  Mark Berberick

  • Knights are doing food drives. Also a vocation raffle. Always recruiting new members. For more information, contact Mark.

St. Mark’s Sharing Activities:  Don Piergalski/Patty Haase

  • Food Pantry:  Food donations to St. Marks continues to be amazing. We have gone from 2-3 carloads, to 4-5 carloads, to 6 carloads this past Saturday. Also a generous group of parishioners brought down 3 carloads of fresh produce on Saturday. People have also been using the Sign-Up Genius, in Wayside Wednesday to volunteer for collection and delivery. This is critical, since with the increase of food donations, means more volunteers needed to make it work. The goal is to keep this ministry growing.
  • OLW received a contribution of Christmas dinners from a Rockford Diocese St. Vincent DePaul Conference. Hams complete with sides to assist St. Mark’s, Little Sisters of the Poor, and OLW parishioners in need with the balance going to Catholic Charities. The dinners served over 300 people.
  • Giving Tree:  This year there were over 300 people on the list with needs for food and gifts. The team provided for everyone. As a result of the pandemic restrictions, the collections were lower than in the past. However a significant contribution from an anonymous donor raised the total and made it possible for all to receive gifts.

PADS:  Nancy Lynk/Molly Wolfe

  • PADS is still on hiatus, for the foreseeable future, due to the pandemic with homeless living in area hotels via a government grant. Journeys has funding to continue providing hotel accommodations through the end of March. OLW intends to continue our support by providing hot dinners and Meal Kits to the guests. OLW is committed to 5 meal kits per week through March. We may have enough in our budget to provide another dinner.

Respect Life:  Sara Zimmerman/Christa Schermerhorn

  • Information on the March for Life in Mundelein (drive-in rally) on January 17 and in Chicago on January 23 was shared in the bulletin and Wayside Wednesday. Events begin at 1:00 pm. The Secretariat of pro-life activities has planned “9 Days for Life,” January 21-29.

Emily Holum Memorial Blood Drive:

  • Feb. 21, 8 am – 2 pm. For information or to schedule a blood donation, call 877.258.4825 or visit vitalant.org.  Use group code 211C.

Domestic Abuse:  Kathy O’Neill, RN

Meeting Wellness with Grace/Mental Health Ministry: Kathy O’Neill, RN

  • Continue weekly bulletin updates.

St. Vincent DePaul:  John Supplitt

  • Christmas dinners and gift cards were distributed to people in need. We worked with CFM, OLW school, OLW parish, and Catholic Charities to coordinate this effort. Calls requesting assistance continue to come in and we are navigating our next steps in assisting clients. A moratorium on evictions remains, nevertheless OLW SVDP is working with local Catholic parishes, Catholic Charities , and social service agencies to best serve people. It is very difficult because of the large need and our limited funds. Donations are welcome electronically, through GiveCentral. We thank you for your generous support.

Ministers of Care: Kathy O’Neill, RN

  • Nothing to report at this time. Potential training opportunity coming to a Zoom near you.

Wheels to Worship:  Louise Dickey

  • Nothing to report at this time. On hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shawl Ministry:  Loretta Koulias

  • Shawl ministry has a number of scarves looking for a home. We will wrap them and they could be given out at either Saint Marks or pads or ever you think is best.

Bereavement Ministry:  Judy Amberg

  • One-year anniversary of death prayer cards are being shared with surviving loved ones.

Grief Support Group: Kathy O’Neill, RN

  • Activities have been suspended due to the pandemic. We keep in contact with the members of the previous sessions.

Special Needs/Elizabeth Ministries:  Ellen Tomasek

  • No report at the time of publication.

SPRED Program:  Tom Aichele/Beth Ann Finis

  • The following update on OLW SPRED November/December activities: Catechists created Thanksgiving Day cards and mailed to FRIENDS. Christmas card mailing campaign:  Catechists sent Christmas cards to their FRIENDS, with a handwritten note. Zoom meeting in December, including a Christmas carol sing-along and cookie treats delivered to the homes of our FRIENDS. One of our FRIENDS–who in the past would not participate in ZOOM meetings—was so happy to receive the Thanksgiving Day/Christmas cards that he had a change of heart and joined the virtual session for the first time! OLW welcomes new Executive Director of the SPRED Program, Joe Quane.

Ministry of Praise: Kathy O’Neill, RN

  • Continues to send out monthly prayer letters to the members.

Meals on Wheels:  Dan Stubing

  • No report at the time of publication.
Tags: , , , ,

Comments are closed here.