St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church

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Charity in Truth

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Cordova Community Food Locker

The Holy Father expressed his hope in the words of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans: “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom 12:9-10).  That is our hope as well.

The Charity in Truth Committee is part of the parish Stewardship and Justice Ministry. It was formed in 2010 as a result of a group study of Pope Benedict’s encyclical “Charity in Truth” (“Caritas in Veritate”) and that group's desire to respond to the encyclical by reaching out beyond our parish.

Mission Statement:

Our mission is to help the parish of St. Patrick to practice Christian charity. We will foster "spiritual fellowship in Christ" through education and action.

Our goals are focused in two main areas:

1) to provide ideas and opportunities for us at St. Pat’s to get involved in charitable activities outside our parish

2) to support and collaborate with other charitable organizations within and beyond the Washington community.

 

We’re always looking for more people to get involved with our committee’s goal of charity in truth. If you are already involved in a charitable organization, please tell us. We need parish liaisons who will help connect those charitable groups with willing St. Pat’s volunteers. If you would like to be a member of our Core Group which meets regularly, or would like to work on a specific charitable outreach project, please contact the parish business office or Rich Foley.

We meet on a quarterly basis on the 3rd Thursday of the month in the cry room of the church.

 

How Can I Help?

Catholic Charities provides an array of services for people in 26 counties in central Illinois. St. Pat's provides support to several agencies within Catholic Charities with special collections of items on their "wish lists" during the year, such as the Giving Tree at Christmas and the "Fill the Crib" drive for St. Gianna Baby Pantry. For more information on Catholic Charities, contact Matthew Rademacher at 309-256-7493. Catholic Charities: www.ccdop.org

The Center for Youth and Family Solutions is a non-profit social services agency that contracts with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Human Services in the areas of child welfare, residential services, youth and community intervention, behavioral health, and senior services. It was formed by a group of committed civic leaders after State contracts with Catholic Charities, who had historically served thousands of children in foster care in Illinois, were ending because of the inception of the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act in June 2011. We support CYFS programs that we previously supported through Catholic Charities - Foster Care, Senior Services, and Guardian Angel Residential Home for boys – with tags on our Advent Giving Trees. For more information on CYFS, contact Matthew Rademacher at 309-256-7493.

 The Center for Youth and Family Solutions: cyfsolutions.org

Threads, Hope and Love is a clothing center ministry sponsored by Washington churches to serve anyone in need of clothing. St. Pat's has become a "Covenant Partner." That involves support through volunteer hours at the clothing center on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturday mornings, and for special clothing giveaways, donations of clothing, and monetary donations. For more information on Threads Hope and Love, contact Linda McDonough at (708)606-2037. Threads, Hope and Love: threadshopeandlove.org

Washington Weekend Snackpac was formed in the summer of 2015 to provide a free sack of nonperishable food items to Washington school children who may not have access to an adequate amount of food on the weekends. St. Pat's has two representatives on the founding core group, and is one of 15 Washington churches currently supporting the program. Volunteers and donations are always needed and gratefully accepted. For more information on Washington Weekend Snackpac, contact Deanna Baele (645-4246) or Michelle Mosbach (444-2310). Washington Weekend Snackpac: sscwash@comcast.net (Sunnyland Christian Church

W.H.I.P. is a local food pantry, "Washington Helps Its People." The Charity in Truth committee conducts a special food drive for W.H.I.P. quarterly to load them up with a specific food that they request, e.g. "Peanut Butter & Jelly Sunday" or "Soup Sunday."

 

Contact Matthew Rademacher

Phone:  309-256-7493

Email:  mrademac@aol.com