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In Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), Pope Benedict XVI writes that “love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential to [the Church] as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel” (no. 22).
Our parish empowers and advocates for people in all stages of life, from conception to natural death through our many Service Ministries, listed below. HAVE ADDITIONAL IDEAS?
If you have a passion for a particular service ministry and would like to establish it at our parish, please contact Sister Caritas after mass or contact the Parish Office either by email or by calling 312-842-6777 (STWS) or 312-842-7979 (SBWS). Our Service MinistriesBaby Bottle Program
Every Advent, our parish supports the mission of the Women's Resource Center (WRC) with their Baby Bottle Campaign. The WRC is a faith-based ministry that provides medically accurate information about pregnancy, fetal development, lifestyle issues, and related services. This organization has been approved by the Archdiocese of Chicago. Families are invited to take a WRC baby bottle home after mass and bring it back with a contribution before Christmas. Parish members are encouraged to be generous each Advent. For more information on the Baby Bottle Program, visit wrcmobile.org/bottle. If you would like to help, please talk to Sister Caritas after mass or contact the Parish Office either by email or by calling 312-842-6777 (STWS) or 312-842-7979 (SBWS). CRS Rice Bowl
Every Lent parish members are encouraged to be generous with the CRS Rice Bowl Project (CRSRB) In addition to international emergency aid, CRS has numerous initiatives that promote long-term solutions to poverty and hunger overseas, such as projects focused on restorative justice, agricultural development, micro-lending, fair trade enterprises, and hunger prevention initiatives. On Ash Wednesday CRSRB are blessed and distributed at mass. Inside each CRSRB, families can find prayers, activities and recipes, all geared toward fostering global solidarity. During each Lenten Sunday Liturgy, a specific prayer of the faithful is dedicated to one of the countries benefiting from CRSRB that year. Parish catechists also promote CRSRB with videos, activities and catechesis. For more information on the CRS Rice Bowl Project, visit crsricebowl.org. If you would like to help, please talk to Sister Caritas after mass or contact the Parish Office either by email or by calling 312-842-6777 (STWS) or 312-842-7979 (SBWS). Conversational English Program
There’s no better place to share your bilingual talents than at our parish! New immigrants in our neighborhood are eager to practice and improve their conversational English with those with those who have a basic understanding of sentence structure and grammar. It is also helpful to be a good listener and have patience, like Mary, our Mother. If you can help out a couple of hours a week with this important ministry in our Chinese Apostolate, please reach out to Sister Caritas after mass or contact the Parish Office either by email or by calling 312-842-6777 (STWS) or 312-842-7979 (SBWS). Respect Life
The Respect Life Committee at our parish seeks to transform society into a Culture of Life where every human being is valued and protected, from the moment of conception to natural death. We educate and inspire people throughout the year through bulletin articles, retreats, and events, We also sponsor Respect Life liturgy petitions and special prayer vigils/holy hours in the parish. Each October the Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month, and the first Sunday of October is observed as Respect Life Sunday. During the month of October, the Church asks us to reflect more deeply on the dignity of every human life so that we can then work together to respect life throughout the coming year. If you want to join our Respect Life committee, please reach out to Larry Wong after mass or contact the Parish Office either by email or by calling 312-842-6777 (STWS) or 312-842-7979 (SBWS). Sister House
Sister House (SH) is a faith community of recovering women who are spiritually transformed to the fullness of their potential to benefit future generations. This faith-orientated community of women are dedicated to:
If you love cooking and want to teach other to cook, please reach out to Sister Caritas after mass or contact the Parish Office either by email or by calling 312-842-6777 (STWS) or 312-842-7979 (SBWS). St. James Food Pantry
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Parish works closely with St. James Food Pantry, located nearby at 2907 S. Wabash Ave., to assist those in need in our neighborhood more consistently and efficiently. We will send volunteers on the 2nd Saturday of each month to help distribute food and provide other needed food pantry services. The food pantry staff especially needs and appreciates Mandarin and Cantonese speaking parishioners or volunteers to communicate and serve all in our community. St. James Food Pantry also distributes food on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. If you would like to get help, call 312-842-1919. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Steve Lee at the Parish Office either by email or by calling 312-842-6777 (STWS) or 312-842-7979 (SBWS). Missionaries of Charity Soup Kitchen (St. Joseph's Home)
The Sisters from the Missionaries of Charity operate the St. Joseph's Home soup kitchen at 115 N. Oakley Blvd. Our Parish joins the sisters every Tuesdays at the soup kitchen to help with cooking, cleaning, and serving those in need. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the Parish Office either by email or by calling 312-842-6777 (STWS) or 312-842-7979 (SBWS). |
