Outreach Ministries
Communion for the Homebound/Nursing Homes
Each week about 20 lay ministers of Eucharist from the parish take Eucharist to those who are homebound. The Pastoral Minister also brings Eucharist weekly or biweekly to those who request it. Please call the Parish Office at 262-694-6018 if you or someone you know is homebound and would like a pastoral visit.
Elizabeth Closet
Elizabeth’s Closet is a group of volunteers dedicated to helping families in need of obtaining items for their babies and toddlers. Items provided include diapers, wipes, baby wash, clothing, and blankets. Formula and baby furniture may also be provided when available. If assistance is needed, please contact the parish at 262-694-6018 and leave a message. A volunteer will return your call to schedule a pick up.
Donations for the Closet are accepted year-round and may be tax deductible. Donations can be dropped off in the bin located in the main entry of the church or brought to the church office during normal business hours. Be sure to watch the Parish bulletin for items of specific need throughout the year. Our community’s support of this ministry is very much appreciated.
To volunteer to assist this ministry, please call the Parish Office at 262-694-6018.
Health Ministry
St. Mary’s Health Ministry’s mission is to integrate the concept of healing into our faith life.
The scripture urges us to preach, to teach, and to heal. Healing of body-mind-spirit go hand in hand with the Gospel message. Health refers to the overall well-being of the whole person and the community in which the person lives. It is within that context that we work.
Some past projects have been programs on depression, healthy living, blood drive, health fairs, and ongoing monthly blood pressure screenings. Brochures are available in church on numerous health issues.
CPR/AED training is offered to any interested parishioner. St. Mary’s has AED units in the church, gymnasium, and school.
Ministry members do not need to be health professionals.
Hospital and Nursing Home Visits
Hospital Visits: members of the pastoral staff visit all three hospitals in Kenosha on a weekly basis. Occasionally we miss people because parish information was not obtained at admission or the person is not in their room when we call. If you know that you will be going to Aurora Hospital, please call the parish office in advance, as they usually do not contact us when a parishioner becomes a patient. If you are in the hospital for a lengthy time and we do not visit, please call us. If someone is hospitalized out of town, please call the parish office.
Nursing Home visits: St. Mary Parish ministers to Hospitality Manor and Kenosha Care Center on a weekly basis. Mass is celebrated every other week at Hospitality Manor and on alternate weeks, a communion service by a deacon or a pastoral minister is provided. Kenosha Care Center has a weekly communion service. A communion service is also held monthly at Canterbury Assisted Living Facility. Other parishes in Kenosha provide the other nursing homes with Mass or a communion service on a regular basis. If someone is placed in a local nursing home, please let us know.
Human Concerns
Here is the information for the committee's 2020 Lenten projects, including the Ash Wednesday Soup Supper, Matthew 25 Collection, and the annual Rice Bowl Collection.
Here is the committee's February 2020 ministries report.
Human Concerns coordinates much of the parish’s outreach to those of our community and parish family. We sponsor:
- · A food collection for the needy every Sunday of the year
- · A Thanksgiving and Christmas food and gift collection (Giving Circle)
- · A Mother’s Day rose sale for the Wisconsin Right to Life Organization
- · Participation in the Shalom Center Hunger Walk in May
- · Health committee
- · St. Vincent de Paul Conference
- · Ash Wednesday simple meal
- · Lenten Matthew 25 collection
- · Emergency outreach funds for the poor
- · Assists with the Stewardship Outreach Committee
- · Assists with the work of the Shalom Center
- · Assists with the INNS Program
- · Assists with the Elizabeth Ministry program
We consider it our responsibility to make an effort to keep the parish informed concerning the needs of our parish as well as the greater Christian community in our state, by publishing informative articles in the parish bulletin and the sponsorship of adult speakers on various topics, and through the energetic input and interaction of the committee members.
We are always looking for interested members to join our committee. We meet the third Monday of each month, September through June, in the Parish Center. Contact Deacon Wilson Shierk at 262-697-0227
Jail Ministry
The Jail Ministry provides materials utilized by the libraries to both Kenosha County incarceration facilities. The chaplain offers the men and women reading materials, paperback novels in English and Spanish, magazines, crossword puzzles, word searches, and materials for communications such as paper, envelopes, and stamps. The chaplain’s library also provides simple board games such as Chess, Checkers, Monopoly, Scrabble, Sorry, Risk, Battleship, Stratego, table puzzles, and decks of cards. Deacon Ron Lesjak collects any donated items (new and used) and takes them to the chaplain. Please contact Deacon Ron Lesjak at rflesjak@gmail.com or 262-694-9143.
La Sagrada Familia
St. Mary Parish has partnered with the La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) parish as our sister parish. La Sagrada Familia is located in Sabana Yegua in the Southwestern part of the Dominican Republic. This area is comprised of wonderful but needy people. The central parish has over twenty surrounding villages that have or need chapels, agricultural advice, and medical assistance. Look for ongoing information in our parish bulletin regarding our commitment and support of this important mission.
Ministry of Hope: Helping Others Providing Encouragement
The Ministry of Hope provides support and comfort to individuals and families in our parish who are experiencing an illness, difficult times, or grieving a loss.
- Funeral Luncheons- The Ministry of Hope volunteers offer their time and talent in preparing and serving funeral luncheons. Desserts, salads, drinks and a welcoming atmosphere are provided for the family. The only cost is minimal for the main dish of your choice. To use this ministry please contact the Parish Office at 262-694-6018.
- Sunshine Group-These Ministry of Hope volunteers meet on the first Monday of every other month beginning in January in the Rectory at 1:00pm. The group sends get well and sympathy cards to parish members. Donations of cards and stamps are always appreciated and can be dropped off in the Rectory or Church. Please mark all donations for the Ministry of Hope.
- Meals at home - Meals after return home from the hospital-Ministry of Hope volunteers offer a meal or two following a person's return home from the hospital or recuperation at a nursing facility. Often a person is just not up to cooking for themselves right away and this service would offer a little help during that time. To use this ministry or if you know someone who is in need, please contact 262-694-6018.
New members are always needed to help in any of the above areas. Please offer your time and talent to one or all of these important areas of St. Mary's Ministry of Hope by calling the Parish Office at 262-694-6018.
Prayer Line
St. Mary’s Prayer Line is made up of parishioners who pray daily for all prayer requests or prayers of thanksgiving that we receive. Our ministry has been functioning since January 2005. Anyone who has a prayer request, whether it be for themselves, a family member, or friend, can communicate their prayer request to us in the following ways:
1) Call the Rectory at 262-925-4156 and leave a message
2) Send us an e-mail at prayerline@stmarycatholic.org
3) Complete a Prayer Request Form (found at each church entrance) and deposit them in one of the adjacent collection boxes
Phone messages and e-mails are retrieved daily, and Prayer Request Forms are picked up once a week. Every day one of us is responsible for communicating - in confidence - any new prayer requests to the rest of the group.
Our ministry is separate from, and in addition to, St. Mary’s Book of Prayers and the Prayers of Petition that are read at Mass. We recognize the power of prayer and how it brings all of us closer to each other and to God, and we feel privileged to be a part of this ministry.
*******St. Mary's Prayer Line does NOT make outgoing phone calls. We are in NO way affiliated with St. Mary prayer center and their robocall messages*******
St. Vincent de Paul Society
The St. Vincent de Paul Society is a Catholic lay organization which consists of volunteer members who help in situations with those who are in need. SVDP helps with person-to-person assistance promoting human dignity and integrity. In addition to assistance with the material necessities of life, members visit and offer companionship to those who are homebound, hospitalized, or confined to institutions.
As a reflection of the family of God, SVDP members are drawn from every ethnic and cultural background, age group, and economic level. They form small groups called “conferences” that meet regularly, pray together, and carry out their selected charitable works. They are united in the worldwide movement of the St. Vincent de Paul Society by a common philosophy and mutual sharing.
For information about St. Mary’s affiliation with St. Vincent de Paul Society, contact the Parish Office at 262-694-6018.