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Social Ministries Coordinator:
St. Vincent De Paul President:
St. Vincent De Paul Vice President:
St. Vincent De Paul Secretary:

Client Service members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society ("Vincentians") are men and women who are inspired by their gospel values to join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to individuals in need. We are young and old. Our members come in every shade of skin color. Some of us are wealthy, some are financially poor, but all of us are blessed with an awareness that our blessings (time, talent or treasure) are to be shared with our brothers and sisters in need. Energized by the awareness that service to our brother or sister in need is, in fact, an encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ, client service representatives are keenly aware that poverty, suffering and loneliness are present for millions in our communities. For that reason, we collaborate with all who seek to relieve need and address its causes. Volunteers are trained to visit potential clients and to gather information. If funds are available and the need warrants financial assistance, we are able to help in this area. We also offer valuable information as to where they may go for help, suggest alternative avenues they can try to help get themselves out of the situation and financial consultants for budgeting advice.

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Through the "Food Collection Sunday" held very third Sunday of each month, our ministry helps stock the pantry and deliver food to those who make the need known. We are able to offer food to the community around us and also send some to other pantries when the need arises. We offer food to sustain the body and prayers to sustain the soul.

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This is one of two food pantries run by the Diocesan Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Volunteers from our parish staff the pantry on the second Saturday of each month. Volunteers sort, pact and distribute food to registered clients who come to the pantry weekly. The pantry assists the needy and working poor to supplement their food needs. The pantry also runs special programs to supply its clients with coats and blankets in the fall, additional food at Thanksgiving, and Christmas gifts. Through this ministry both body and soul are fed.

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Each Sunday following the 9 a.m. Mass, three to five Eucharistic Ministers bring communion to the Franklin Park Nursing Home Catholics there. Members of this ministry are also available to assist when Mass is offered there on a monthly basis and when the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is celebrated twice a year.

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For those who have special needs children, this ministry can support you spiritually, socially and emotionally. It can help you through all the stages and hurdles from birth to adulthood in hope of making the journey easier. References are available to help you find your way through the bureaucracy of getting what is needed for your child(ren). Help is also provided to get you through the process of setting up a guardianship when children reach 18 years old, and assistance with SSI, Medicare/Medicaid, record-keeping, Fee for Services for the State of New Jersey, etc.

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Our Parish Breakfast serves as an avenue for the parish families to gather on a social level at will with no demands. It also serves as an option for confirmation service for our St. Augustine School and Religious Education students. The Parish Breakfast is the third Sunday of the month from October to April, where possible. We serve from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at family affordable costs. On the Thursday or Friday before the breakfast all volunteers are called. There is always a need for permanent additional adult volunteers for cooking, serving and clean up.

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Many of the Social Ministries are focused on helping and supporting people during their times of need or when faced with a specific difficulty in their lives. The Parish Family Ministry, a group of dedicated volunteers, takes a slightly different focus, that of building and uniting the parish community through celebrations of joyous occasions that occur either on the Church calendar or important events specific to our parish. For example, our ministry sponsors events such as the annual Parish Picnic, Advent and St. Joseph celebrations and May Crowning in addition to other social gatherings. Our ministry is dedicated to creating a truly caring and supportive Christian community by providing social gatherings where the people of this parish may come together and have the opportunity to become familiar faces to each other and get to know one another. The Parish Family Ministry is open to anyone who enjoys lending a helping hand. There are many facets involved and there's a place for you! A phone call is all it takes to be a part of this family.

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Each year during Advent, our parish displays a Giving Tree with ornaments specifying gift suggestions for those names given to us by our Client Services ministry and various other charitable organizations. All our parishioners, young and old alike, participate in this project by preparing the ornaments for the tree. With the assistance of adults, it is possible to collect and deliver many hundreds of gifts to those families who would go without any gifts at all for Christmas.

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During the Lenten season our parishioners receive plastic eggs containing an item that needs to be purchased to help those in need in our community through local charitable organizations. We are also encourage making sacrifices during this most holy time and offer them to the Lord in reparation for the sins committed against Him.

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The Lazarus Ministry helps to fill the needs of those experiencing the loss of a loved one. Members attend wakes of the deceased parishioners to offer comfort to their families, and they attend funeral Masses. The ministry maintains the "Care Notes" available in the Gathering Area of our church and sponsors seminars and workshops for those who are grieving, and help coordinate the All Souls Day Mass on November 2 to remember all those who have died during the year.

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Sherry
Stephanie

This ministry sees to the needs of those who may need transportation to see a doctor at his office or in the hospital. We also grocery shop for those who cannot shop for themselves and make sure they are visited by a Eucharistic Minister if they are homebound, visit them if they so desire or just keep in touch by phone.

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Mary

This ministry comes together once a month to pray and honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each month we focus on a different topic or area of interest. We provide spiritual nourishment for mothers striving to raise Catholic children amidst a secular culture. We have helped pregnant women who are in jeopardy and the very serious ill in the parish by visiting them, cooking meals for them and praying with them. Mothers with children of all ages are welcome and encouraged to try our group.

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Elizabeth

The Parish Link Prayer Ministry is an intercessory prayer group whose members commit to pray for specific requests. Prayer requests can be of any nature and as specific or non-specific as necessary. All requests are confidential and emergency requests are called out immediately. The group is always open to new members; the only requirement is a desire to pray for the needs of others.

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Anne

Our ministry will do all it can to educate and keep everyone informed of the issues concerning life..from birth until natural death. We attend the Life-Chain in October and the January 22 March for Life in Washington D.C.. The Diocesan Pro-Life Ministry is our link to what bills and critical issues are coming up concerning what is going on in our government. Every Sunday there is information regarding Life in our bulletin. We cannot stress enough how everyone must get involved, no matter how small.

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Karen

St. Augustine's support group for Separated and Divorced Catholics is educational, informational, spiritual, and social in scope. The support group is structured for individuals who have been separated or divorced for over one year. Meetings begin with prayer or a bible reading. The participants then choose a relevant topic for the evening's discussion. Topics such as single parenting, annulments, finances, loneliness, stress, and relationships have been discussed. The group provides an informal atmosphere for networking and sharing problems with others in the same situation. Meetings are held on an as needed and requested basis.

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Helen

We are a small group who welcome new parishioners into our parish after they register. Approximately five to six families register each week. Our committee receives their names and phone numbers from the Parish office. We attempt to speak to them by telephone within 2 weeks after receiving their names. We welcome them into the St. Augustine Parish and also invite them to come to the parish breakfast the following month or the parish picnic during the summer months.

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Len

This is a men's group for faith-building and fellowship dedicated to building up the Mystical Body by becoming better informed, well-informed Catholics, drilling home the message that Catholic men can take a moral stand on contemporary issues contrary to Faith, sharpening our skills of discernment by grounding ourselves in prayer and spiritual reflection, wrenching ourselves free of a world which has lost its moral compass by daring to go against the grain, and leveling the playing field of secular society by laying a firm foundation for our Catholic faith and voice.

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Barbara

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Barbara

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Barbara

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Mary

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Steve and Carolyn

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Donna