Outreach

Ministry of Care

We at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish take seriously the mandate to bring Christ in the Eucharist to the hospitalized and homebound among us. We consider this ministry a call to service, and we commit our time and talent to those who need us. Ministers of Care are Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who are commissioned at the discretion of the Pastor and work under the supervision of the Director of Pastoral Care.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who serve at Mass are not necessarily Ministers of Care. Ministers of Care are required to complete additional training. The Ministry of Care at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish normally serves Del Webb Hospital, a number of assisted living facilities and anyone homebound within our parish boundaries who is unable to attend Mass. When able, Holy Communion is taken to the hospital daily. When possible, prayer and Communion services are held weekly and some assisted living facilities. At others, communicants receive in their rooms on a weekly basis. Homebound parishioners usually receive weekly.

The Catholic Outreach Center is available for those parishioners who need additional assistance with resources. Information and referral, counseling, care management, and parish nursing services are available. These services are provided to parishioners free of charge or at a minimal cost.

For more information, contact Jan Brett at 623-214-3576 or jbrett@ololscw.org.

Respect Life Ministry

“Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God.”

Thank you for considering joining the Respect Life Ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. This ministry promotes advocacy and support for persons, institutions and community education around issues that degrade human life. Issues that degrade human life include abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, unethical research and medical practices. Advocacy and education include prayer at abortion facilities and church, sharing information and community resources available to expecting parents that promote continuation of pregnancy up to birth and thereafter, and sharing information and community resources available to the elderly related to aging and natural end of life.

Current activity undertaken by the ministry is the monthly baby item collection for the three diocesan approved pregnancy centers. Several ministry members regularly pray outside the local Planned Parenthood facility in Glendale. Each year we hold a 9-month "Spiritual Adoption" program and baby shower to collect items for moms in need. All items are delivered to a local pregnancy center of the month. We also hold an annual baby bottle drive to benefit Aid to Women Pregnancy Center.

The Respect Life Ministry appreciates your consideration of this call to service. There are many possible activities that could be realized if the number of ministry members grows. Meetings are currently held on the first Tuesday of each month at 1:30 pm in the Fr. McGivney room on the parish campus. A pro-life Rosary is recited at 1:00 pm in the church prior to all general meetings. Ministry members will be required to complete SET (Safe Environment Training) foundation class or annual renewal online.

If you have any further questions, please contact Terese Boas by email at boasfmly@comcast.net or phone 904-718-3322.

St. Vincent de Paul

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is the largest Catholic lay organization in the world, operating in 142 countries. The Vincentians of Our Lady of Lourdes Conference have provided person-to-person service to the needy in this area regardless of race, creed, color or status for over 30 years.

We are dedicated to the urgent exhortation of our founder, Blessed Frederic Ozanam: “Let us go to the poor.” The homes we visit are among the special places where those who seek assistance and those who offer it meet on the common ground of God's love. The compassion of St. Vincent and Blessed Frederic motivates Vincentians to continue the ministry to the poor begun by Jesus Christ himself.

Gratitude to Our Parishioners

We are indebted to our supportive parishioners for all the many ways they enable us to continue our mission.

• Non-perishable food for our pantry and Valley View Food Bank is collected in the labeled bins throughout the year with special collections on the 4th Sunday of each month.
• Contributions for special projects like Back-to-School and Christmas Adopt-A-Family.

If you would like to learn more about how you could become an Associate Vincentian or Full Vincentian, please contact the St. Vincent de Paul office at 623-344-7267.