CAST | Collection Ministries | Food Pantry | Maison Fortune Orphanage | PLARN
Justice and Peace News for October 19 CLICK HERE
“As a faith-community within the Catholic Church of St. Mark, the Justice and Peace committee, using our gifts and talents, desire to image Jesus Christ by fostering the values that He gave us and to promote the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Our ministry is guided by the Church’s “Catholic Social Teaching” (ref: USCCB website) and the “Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching”. We currently sponsor and support several outreach and service programs, some of which like our food pantry and Snack-Bag Ministry operate year-round, others, like our Christmas Giving Tree program are seasonal. Our ministry is always in need of committed volunteers to help. We meet on the 3rd Monday every other month (beginning each January) at 6:30pm currently via Zoom. For more information about the ministry, please contact us.
The following list highlights some of our current ministries and outreach programs:
C.A.S.T. (Chesapeake Area Shelter Team): Provides overnight winter shelter for the homeless for one week, Wednesday to Wednesday, along with meals, resources, security, and fellowship. St. Mark has participated in the weekly sheltering/feeding for 11 years.
COLLECTION MINISTRIES: Throughout the year, we focus our efforts on a specific need / issue in our community by collecting specific items. Reaching out to those in need by providing these much-needed items as well as opportunities for our parishioners to give. In addition, during times of need due to crisis, natural disasters, and other emergencies other collections may be added. Below are the regular yearly collections we host:
February – Women’s Hygiene Items for VB Jail
May – Baby Items
June – Migrant Worker items
July – August – School Supplies
September – October – Winter Items
October – Baby Items
Advocacy: Our goal is to help educate and raise awareness in our parish regarding HUMAN TRAFFICKING. We are utilizing bulletin announcements, our bulletin board located in the Great Hall and various activities such as World Day of Prayer for Human Trafficking on February 8th, and opportunities for awareness training via On-Watch, US Sisters against Trafficking, and the Polaris Project.
Christmas Giving Tree: We collect gift cards, toys and other requested gift items to help in need parishioners and families served by Catholic Charities, Samaritan House, Department of Human Services, Refugee Resettlement, Jewish Family Services and others helping them to have a merrier Christmas.
Food Pantry: Our Food Pantry collects, purchases and distributes food to individuals requesting assistance on Wednesdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm.
FOOD INSECURITY: We need your help! As you know food prices are rising drastically. Last year to fill a bag cost $13.04; this year the cost is $22.48and Food Pantry donations are down. Please help by donating financially or by donating an item from our item list. Printed lists are also available on the table in Commons by Food Pantry bin
Food Pantry Items:
*Please check expiration dates
12-15oz Cheerios (or store brand)
14.5-15 oz Canned Green Beans
19-30 oz. Plastic Jar Grape Jelly
7.25 oz. Macaroni & Cheese
9-15oz. Instant Mashed Potatoes
1lb. Spaghetti noodles
24oz. Plastic Spaghetti Sauce
16-18 oz. Smooth Peanut Butter
14.5-15 oz. Canned Peas
12pk. Chicken Ramen Noodles
5 oz. Canned Tuna in Water
1 lb. Bagged White Rice
$10 Grocery Gift Card
Holiday Baskets: We collect gift cards at Thanksgiving and Christmas to provide a holiday meal to in need parishioners and families served by Catholic Charities, Samaritan House, Department of Human Services, Refugee Resettlement, Jewish Family Services and others with a special holiday meal. Typically serving 110-125 families.
Maison Fortune Orphanage: We work to build our relationship, share spiritual and material resources through our formal “twinning” with Maison Fortune Orphanage in Hinche, Haiti. **We are currently working to rebuild our bond and revitalize our awareness in this ministry.
Migrant Ministry: Alongside more than twenty other Catholic parishes from both the sides of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel we work to serve the migrant workers by collecting and donating resources. Items we collect are toiletries, clothing, bedding, backpacks, and school supplies, as well as rosaries, holy cards, and other religious items.
PLARN: On Thursday mornings in the Great Hall from 9:30 till 11:00am a group turns unwanted plastic bags into bedding for the homeless. There is no experience required. No commitments and no meetings to attend, just gathering to make PLARN, mats, and sharing community with each other. Completed mats are donated to the homeless via PIN Ministry.
Prison Ministry: Program centers around visits to Deerfield Correctional Facility celebrating a Mass and conversations with the Catholic inmate community. The visits are usually on the fourth Tuesday of each month. We also write cards for the Easter and Christmas seasons for the Catholic Community at Deerfield.
Snack Bag/P.I.N. Ministry: We put together and deliver snack bags to PIN Ministry. Each Snack Bag contains: granola bar, fruit cup, treat(cookie/crackers/chips), and a meal replacement: tuna pouches or snack kits, only pop-top cans (the homeless usually do not have can openers) chicken noodle or other soup, beanie weenies, beef stew, Chef Boyardee types.
Respect Life: Throughout the year and a special focus during the month of May. We work to raise awareness and offer activities that reflect respecting ALL life from conception to natural death. Activities include our Baby Bottle Drive to support “Hope4Life”, Baby Shower (Baby item drive) for Hope4Life & Catholic Charities, visits to the elderly at Chesapeake Place, reflections from our Prison Ministry volunteers, and advocacy items.
Volunteer Month: During the month of April, we work to focus on recognizing Volunteers; including all here at St Mark as well as those who volunteer in the community at large such as Schools, hospitals, EMS/EMT workers, and so many others. We host a reception with token gifts of appreciation and hors d’oeuvres for all volunteers. For those organizations that are in the larger community outside our walls we bake goodies and deliver them with our heartfelt thanks for all they do to help others. community.
Red Cross Blood Drives: Twice a year J&P and Knights of Columbus work together with the Red Cross hosting very successful blood drives. We are listed as Premier Partners with the Red Cross. Our drives are centered around two saints feast days: St. Valentine, patron saint of love, lovers, happy marriages whose feast day is on February 14th and St Januarius, patron saint of blood, whose feast we celebrate on September 19th.