Human Concern Ministries

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Parish Office

Pastoral Outreach
The parish staff attempts to visit parishioners who have been hospitalized. Family members are asked to inform the parish office of a hospitalization. Through Eucharistic Minister Outreach to the Home Bound, Eucharistic Ministers take Holy Communion to Parish members who are elderly or sick and confined to their homes weekly or biweekly. In addition, monthly visits are made to parishioners who now reside in area nursing homes or adult care facilities.
To volunteer or to request a visit, call the Parish Center at 833-0298. .

Human Concerns Committee: This committee is the umbrella for all of the Human Concerns Ministries. It is made up of members of the following outreach ministries. It meets only twice a year to evaluate existing services to discern needs of persons in the parish and the wider community to identify resources to meet those needs enlisting the active cooperation of parish members.
Sister Jeremy 833-0298

a) Bereavement Committee
The Bereavement Committee serves as a resource to families and friends who are grieving a loss. A guide to grief support services, a speaker series, follow up contacts with families, and an annual memorial mass for the deceased are the responsibilities of this committee.
Mary Beth Debus 876-5630

b) Community Mental Health Committee
This group reaches out to recipients of mental health services and to their families and friends to lend support and to help them become aware of the services which are available in the community works to create an environment of hospitality and welcome within the parish for individuals with mental health concerns provides informational evenings to educate the parish and community in the area of mental illness, and maintains a "Mental Health Basket" with educational materials and information holds a Eucharistic Service on the second Friday of each month for mental health recipients who are unable to attend a regular parish mass.
Ellen Cooper 839-1052, Sharon Ward 875-1428, Sister Jeremy 833-0298

c) Eucharistic Minister Outreach to the Home Bound; Eucharistic ministers take Holy Communion to parish members who are elderly or sick and confined to their homes once a week or every other week.
Diane Houlihan 836-5009

d) Food Pantry; Four teams pack and deliver the groceries collected from the parish each month. These items are delivered to four area pantries on a rotating basis: Little Portion Friary, University Presbyterian Church Food Pantry, AIDS Alliance, and South Buffalo Community Table.
Donna Wassinger 837-0467

e) Nursing Home Visitation; Friendly visits to a nursing home resident once a month. Visits may be done individually or by members of an entire household. A monthly file card is sent to the parish office to keep the pastoral staff informed of changes in a resident's condition.
Sister Jeremy 833-0298

f) St. Vincent de Paul Society; Responds to individual referrals from the central office requesting furniture, food, and other household needs. Also recruits and refers students to summer camp.
John Aman 837-2489

g) Social Justice Concerns; Believing with the universal church that action on behalf of justice is an essential dimension of the mission of the church and the preaching of the gospel, this subcommittee is undertaking a program of education and action to bring about a more just society.
Jim Mang 832-0507
Find out More about the Social Justice Committee

h) VOICE - Buffalo; The parish VOICE Core Team is committed to transforming the city of Buffalo through a grassroots effort to address policies and practices that negatively impact the local community. After surveying the parishioners, the VOICE team held a neighborhood walk focusing on the concerns identified by the survey results: housing, trash, and Main Street development. These are the areas of concern for 2004.
Bob Heffern 854-5820; Soup Kitchens; Monthly sign-up sheets are available in the Community Room for the second Saturday of each month. Volunteers are drawn from the parish community in the following dining rooms:

Night People; Volunteers provide specific food items, some of which need to be pre-cooked. Additional volunteers warm up and serve the dinner at Friends of Night People Soup Kitchen on Hudson Street. These volunteers work from 3:45 to 7:30 p.m.
Frank Andzik 633-7849

St. Francis Xavier Dining Room; Four volunteers are needed from 8:15 a.m. until noon to prepare the food. Six volunteers are needed to set up, serve, and clean up from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. This dining room is located at 157 East Street on the corner of Amherst.
Sister Jeremy 833-0298