Parish Ministries
Tithing
As the community of St. Vincent DePaul, we are committed to helping those who are less fortunate. Your contributions have gone to individuals in our community, to house the homeless, feed the hungry, help those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. You have helped the mentally ill, battered women and those who are being released from prisons. The terminally ill have been given comfort care in Hospice homes. Some funds have gone to a woodshop that trains young people to use tools; given to day care centers.
Here at St. Vincent's, we have blue tithing envelopes for individual contributions and the Parish Pastoral Council and Facilities & Finance Council have voted to make up the difference between the blue envelopes and 3% of the weekly collection. So each month the parish tithing committee meets to distribute an amount equal to 3% of our offertory plate. The greater part of the fund comes from the individuals who use the blue envelopes.
Our meetings are held the 1st Friday of the month at 9:00 am. All are welcome.
If you have suggestions for a charity that you would like to see included please contact Janet Jackling.
Liturgy
Liturgy is the most important thing that we do as a church community. In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Church defines liturgy"as the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed,….the font from which all her power flows". It "builds up those who are in the Church, making of them a holy temple of the Lord, a dwelling place for God in the Spirit." We are told that In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy….toward which we journey as pilgrims.
The Eucharist is our food for that journey.
Much work goes into making our Sunday Celebrations, and all of our other liturgies, run smoothly. The Liturgy Committee meets once a month, on a Monday evening, to help in the planning of our liturgical celebrations. This planning also involves the environment of our worshipping space.
In addition training is made available for those who assist at Sunday Mass. Our altar servers, lectors, Eucharistic ministers and ushers are an important part of our celebrations.
If you are interested in joining the Liturgy Committee, either on an ongoing basis or to help to decorate for a liturgical season please or if you wish to serve as a Liturgical Minister, contact Jeanne Dudek.
Social Events
The Social Events Group is the newest committee in the St. Vincent de Paul community. We have two goals: "Fun-Raising" is our primary focus, fund-raising our second. To select activities that appeal to a broad base of our parish family, a survey was conducted in January 2002 to determine what events would generate the most appeal.
If you are interested in volunteering to work on any of the above events, or would like to join our committee, please email: Patti Ehrmentraut or phone:(585) 889-4580.
Social Justice Advocacy
Please direct your questions to Larry Ver Weire. Below you will find links to important documents on this subject.
Letter from Bishop Clark
Government Representatives