- Volunteer Ministry
- Invitation to Volunteer
- Stories at the Table
The office of Volunteer Ministry at St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church and Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry was created in response to the activities and needs of the parish. Currently the ministry coordinators work alongside the full-time director to coordinate and implement activities for greater involvement by members of the parish. Activities and ministries are opportunities for parishioners to live out their baptismal covenant and be good stewards of what God has given to them. Since 2002 we have purposefully set out to educate the greater community about the ministries, to invite all members to consider their talents and skills, call them to meaningful service, support ministry coordinators in welcoming new volunteers, accurately track all outcomes and thank volunteers for their service.
The office of Volunteer Ministry facilitates connections and collaboration between/among the ministries of St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church and the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry. Holding regular meetings with ministry coordinators and staff liaisons for reporting goals and accomplishments does this work.
In addition to individual meetings with parishioners to assist with discernment and matching of passions and gifts with ministries, the office of Volunteer Ministry collaborates with each of the more than fifty ministries of the parish and urban center and hosts a Ministry Fair every other year. The Commitment to Ministry Sunday takes place every year, it is a time for parishioners to step aside, renew and join new ministries. Follow-up is provided both to individuals as well as the ministries and committees to ensure all offerings of time and talent are fully recognized and utilized.
A Help Wanted column in each week’s bulletin publicizes volunteer needs within and outside the parish. Some of the many ministries within the parish are Lectors, Altar Servers, Ladies Guild, Welcoming Committee, Office Volunteers, and Care Ministry. Members of the parish respond to the Help Wanted column by contacting the office of Volunteer Ministry, with an
average of six calls each week. Companions in Care is work outside the parish in collaboration with seven faith based social service agencies of greater Hartford. The agencies are: Catholic Charities/Catholic Family Services, The Catholic Worker, Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together Hartford, Trust House and Y-Us – Youth United for Survival. Our partnership with The House of Bread (a soup kitchen) involves donations of food and financial support and more than 60 parishioners serving as Adventure Saturday Mentors and Meal Serving Teams.
The balance between the gifts and talents of parishioners at St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church and the desire to live according ones own promises made at Baptism is what energizes the ministries of the parish. Efforts to welcome new members are planned several times during the program year.
For more information about volunteering please contact Trudi White.
Please click here for a recent copy of our Ministry Guide.
Click here to download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Now that you are here, what will you do?
Welcome to St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church and the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry. Please search through our website or come visit us in Hartford!
You are invited to share your own gifts and talents that God has blessed you with. You can use those gifts in the work of a community of faith that is eager to have your assistance. There are many needs to be filled within and beyond the parish. You have the means to meet those needs as a volunteer. You have skills, interests, expertise and life experience worth sharing.
Taking part in a ministry of service as a volunteer is an exciting way to answer our Lord’s call to work in the vineyard. Volunteering/serving in a ministry is a way to enrich your experience of church by sharing yourself with others. Volunteering is one of the ways to live out the Gospel.
How do I get started?
The best way to start is to learn about the many ministries within the parish. You can call the parish office (860.756.4034) and request a Ministry Guidebook, request information on a particular ministry through email, or speak with the Director of Volunteer Ministry, Trudi White (860.756.4034, ext. 110 or t.white@stpatrick-stanthony.org).
What if I have questions?
Contact: Director of Volunteer Ministry, Trudi White (860.756.4034, ext. 110 or t.white@stpatrick-stanthony.org).
Stories at the table
What has fed you will feed others...with that in mind remember a time when you were involved and felt touched by God’s grace and briefly share that story in writing and spoken word, art or symbol.
I will begin with a brief but powerful story of my joining this community of believers.
Before accepting the position of Director of Volunteer Ministry I did not have a chance to come worship with you. I accepted the position and was overwhelmed with the friendliness of everyone I met starting with my first Sunday here. Like every faith community, we all have expectations and ways that we do things. For me the welcome I got from each person coming in the door was a great indicator of the love and openness of this worshipping community.
My one unasked question was about joining the celebration of the Eucharist. My hesitation was noticed and quickly addressed when I was told that “Our Table is open everyone”. For me, this was the sign that I was home – fellowshipping with others, celebrating the Lord’s Supper and being in community with members of the family of God.
Trudi
I have been especially blessed this year to join the “Adventure Saturday Mentors” who take inner city children on outings; we have lunch together and do craft projects.
This past Christmas we escorted our group of enthused children to the Governor’s Mansion to see the decorations.
Each driver instructed their group on proper behavior and all the things parents say to 6-12 year olds that go in ear and out the other. Upon arrival a State Trooper opened the door for us, smiling broadly, a little too broad I would think in reflection.
We joined the mink-coat; camel-haired overcoat crowd and the children were clearly excited. One of our dimpled darlings dared to touch a pewter pot sitting on a table.
“HANDS IN POCKETS” called out a lady with a clipboard. You could hear a pin drop. As I passed by I said to her “We are escorting an elite group of children from Hartford.” Several wide-eyed faces turned, stepped into single-file and we completed our tour without incident.
As we exited the mansion one of the boys said to me “Yo Miss! What does “elite” mean?”
It means you are “special” children. He did a happy dance in the driveway – I sighed with relief and surely this is proof of God’s sense of humor.
Kathleen
The grace of God is often in the simple gifts...
A hug on Sunday mornings
when the children arrive for religious education
Giving a child their second communion
Watching a small child sing “All Are Welcome”
Faith
I had a chance to substitute teach in a Kindergarten class in 1984. We went around the circle and the children were saying what part of God’s creation was their favorite. Most of them said their dog or cat, some rainbows and so on. We got all around the circle and I began to move on with the class when one child said, “Wait! It’s your turn. What’s your favorite thing?” One of the other children said, “I know! I know what your favorite thing is that God made!” “It’s us! All of us ‘cuz you love us!”
That moment was a great reminder that in the catechetical ministry we’re called to do so much more than teach facts about our faith. That graced moment fed me for a long time, and as you can see, I still think about it.
Florence
Thank you for inviting us to join in celebrating “Stories at the Table” this afternoon and evening. It surely is a grace filled opportunity to appreciate many moments of grace experienced by members of our parish through the ministry they have been called to become involved in.
During this period of life, my “twilight” period when I have had to decrease activities, I have recently been moved to join the Prayer Ministry of our parish. This ministry seemed to me to be the one ministry I could count on accomplishing. I have learned much from the short time I have been praying for others: First of all, I find that I keep these folks on our prayer list in my heart and prayer throughout the days and even during my wakeful periods at night.
In addition, I have developed my own list of people in my life and in the lives of my friends who have asked for prayer. And for some who haven’t asked, but I have been aware that the desire is in my heart.
I have been blessed, too, in that when I have become discouraged because of my own health problems, I begin to think of those I am praying for who are dealing with cancer, waiting for a lung transplant, experiencing depression or trying to recuperate from major surgery. My gratitude for God’s gracious gifts to me throughout my life has increased day by day. And so I thank God for the opportunity to join in this ministry of prayer for my brothers and sisters who ask for God’s help.
Rosalie
AGORA
Some time ago, I was cleaning up the tables after an Agora meeting and overheard two men discussing something very important in hushed tones. One of the men was a lawyer and he said to his companion that he had recently changed the advice to a client based upon having been exposed to the ethical issues discussed at a previous Agora meeting.
I can only assume that his changed guidance to his client was more ethical that what he had planned to provide, but this is conjecture on my part. For someone in my role, it’s always rewarding to know that some value is being provided by the work one does.
Agora is an important guidepost for everyone who faces ethical challenges in the workplace or in private life.
John
Meeting Christ on the floor
It seems simple enough, joining the team to serve breakfast at the House of Bread on Good Friday. A good way to do good I thought. My job was to clean and set tables and help serve heaping plates of pancakes, sausages, French toast and fruit topped off with pitchers full of hot coffee. One diner unabashedly told me I didn't know how to serve grits. He said it should be separate with only butter on top. I was told to take it back and start over and do it right. There was an under the breath comment about dumb white woman. I too had some comments under my breath! Like what about gratitude. Just then an emaciated black woman came into the kitchen and asked to use the phone. I noticed she was crying as she hung up. She was leaving-no words were ever spoken only a deluge of tears. Suddenly there was a commotion and the painfully thin young woman was on the floor writhing in the throws of a grand mal seizure. There were volunteers to the rescue but no one to hold her thrashing head. And as a cradled her head in my arms to protect it from the cement floor I saw vacant eyes on a contorted, sunken face. I detected the strong odor of alcohol. Was it a muddy concoction of other drugs as well that brought her to this state? What brought her to us? It was then I saw Calvary 2000 years ago. I saw an anguished, sorrowful suffering Christ across I saw this in the face of an anonymous waif. This was Good Friday indeed.
There are so many stories in my life and experience, since I joined St. Patrick-St. Anthony's that to pick one is as difficult as asking a mother to pick her favorite child. The dynamic spirit of Father Jim, the quiet humility of Father Mike and especially the gentle welcoming touch of Father Andrew every time he greets you. But that is not to forget the untiring service of Pat and all the staff at the church. Pick one that has fed me? I must look to the quiet almost unseen servants of our community. They are the beautiful little flowers lost in a garden of great color and blossoms. I can think of two - first is Gerri Patti. I joined the Doughnut Ministry in February and then, among many dedicated people one short loving lady stands out. She has served others not for months but years- 15 maybe, every Sunday she is there hours before others, making coffee-arranging doughnuts and always worrying that there’s enough for all. It is like Jesus feeding the thousands but the miracle she brings is love. Then there are the Parish nurses. I know they take blood pressures-but until I joined the Bereavement Ministry I never knew how much they care. Their skills are more than miraculous and unless you have been sick or had a loved one who died you will never know what these quiet women do. They are there anytime at the day or night to pray with the sick, to console those left behind when a loved one dies, to help prepare the funeral services and to console the grieving. What they give cannot be learned in nursing school. In them I see Jesus consoling the grieving and healing the souls of the dying-rallying them to new life.
Joseph
I was recently touched when I joined a group of volunteers for the Rebuilding Together Hartford program. The house we worked on was really in need of repair and all the volunteers just started working on their assigned tasks to get the job done.
There was a feeling of camaraderie among the volunteers. The lady who owned the house was so grateful for all that we had done by the end of the day. I was tired, but the reward of seeing the smile in the homeowners face made it all worthwhile.
One of the reasons I enjoy St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church is because of the way it reaches out and helps members of the local community projects of this type. Thanks for the opportunity to participate in them.
Dan
I have attended many of the Christian/Muslim dialogues at St. Patrick-St. Anthony. At one of them we had a supper where everyone brought in food. The experience of eating a meal and learning a different culture at the same time was wonderful. You could feel the warmth and sharing in that room that night. At one point I looked around and just watched the others interact. The fact that so many women from different lifestyles, ages, and religions could come together in share their experiences so openly was a gift. I truly felt God's grace in that room and have each time I've gone to one of those sessions. My thanks to Carole Fay and the others who put together these meetings and allowed so many women a chance to experience God's grace and peace together.
Peggy
During the brief time I spent in Haiti with members of our parish community, I became deeply aware of the call of each of us not merely to read and meditate upon the words of Scripture but to step into the life of Jesus, to live the life he lived, to be transformed into a reflection of his love for all people. This has been an ongoing experience for me, and urged by the generosity and the love of people of St. Patrick-St. Anthony parish
Roberta
When serving at the House of Bread there have been many memorable experiences- one that especially comes to mind is when a client approached and asked whether we could do a favor for him. To be honest, my first thought was that he would be asking for money. Instead, he very sincerely looked into our eyes and said:” please pray for me."
We were very touched and joined hands with him so we could immediately pray together.
It was a very special moment and one where we could all feel God's presence in love.
Tony
As a catechist, religious education teacher, with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd here at St. Patrick – St. Anthony I. been touched by God's grace and seen the work of the Holy Spirit in so many ways.
A short story to share…
I think about how the children recognize the presence of Jesus so easily. This was evident to me again on the day I presented the parable of the Good Shepherd to a small group of children. As we meditated on the parable together, I posed the question" I wonder how the sheep feel?” From across the room a four-year-old joyfully responded “they are sooooo happy!"
This child, as so many before him, has helped me grow deeper in relationship with God and to remember to always be sooooo happy to be sheep of the Good Shepherd.
Debbie
And the came to pass that as the cold and snow fell in Hartford, it was then that God’s Spirit descended on the pastoral staff at St. Patrick- St. Anthony. And His voice was heard saying, “give shelter to my less fortunate friends." And when the decision to open the Urban Center for shelter was announced to the parishioners there arose such clapping of affirmation the sound was heard in heaven and God said, “yes, this is what I desire this Lenten season."
And the homeless spoke and we at St. Patrick-St. Anthony heard them say, “we have no bathroom, no place to launder clothes, no warm clothes to keep us warm, no nourishing food and no safe place to sleep”. And so in any way possible their needs were met by all who were moved by God's Mercy to be involved in Catherine's Place. And so it came to pass the Catherine's Place became a living testimony that God's Mercy is for everyone and forever.
Sr. Chistel
Service on the Committee Social Justice brought home to me the profound meaning of the words of St. Theresa of Avila that convey the significance of Incarnation Theology
Christ has nobody but yours,
No hands, but yours,
No feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ’s compassion must look out on the world.
Yours are the feet with which
He is to go out about doing good
Yours are the hands with which
He is it to bless us now.
Tom
When I learn something new, as a teacher I try to first embrace the idea and then apply it in a meaningful, creative way. All my life I have heard homilies about the poor, the suffering, the desperate, and the hopeless. Throughout my life, I began to sort out how to help those who suffered, those who were having difficult times, and those who just needed a smile and a listening ear. But I was really stuck on how to help the poor, especially the homeless. When Trudi asked Dick and myself to help with the start of Catherine’s Place, I had no idea that I would finally understand both the theory of helping the homeless and the actuality. All I did was provide warm soup but in return I got to listen to a group of women who were homeless. Somehow hearing about their day-to day travels from one building and one offering to another made me realize that they were real individuals dealing with the problems of being homeless. These women were joined in community to work on a common obstacle of life. They all had names, those homeless women, and I saw the why of the theory of helping the homeless transformed into the how-to in a safe and structured environment here at St. Patrick – St. Anthony.
Linda
"I am blessed to be involved in two ministries that at first glance may seem to be very different--I make sandwiches for the Sandwich Ministry and I am a Eucharistic Minister. As I have had time to be contemplative while making sandwiches and sitting in a quiet Church before Mass, I have come to realize that in both ministries I help to feed others. I feel that in both I am part of a sacred food chain."
Rebecca