Social Services and Outreach

Food For Sharing
Parishioners are invited to bring non-perishable food
items and paper products to Mass on the weekend. The items
are collected and counted and taken to the Open Door
Outreach Center in Union Lake. The Open Door is the local
agency for food and clothing distribution. Other food
collections happen once a month at a school mass,
Thanksgiving eve, and Thanksgiving Day, and on the feast
day of St. Vincent de Paul.
We also participate in Operation Rice Bowl during the
season of Lent. This almsgiving program helps support
the work of Catholic Relief Services.

Seasonal Sharing
This occurs at Christmas, Easter and the beginning of
school in August. Tags are hung and parishioners are
invited to take a tag, purchase the requested item,
and return it by the distribution date. Gifts and gift
certificates are sorted and delivered to local agencies,
who then make them available to their clients. Other
recipients of the Sharing Program include homebound
parishioners and the residents of local nursing care
facilities and adult care homes.

Mission Support through Coffee and Donuts
Coffee and donuts are served almost every Sunday
morning in the parish social hall following the 8 am. and
10 am. Masses. Families, groups and individuals help
set up, serve and clean up. This gathering provides
fellowship for parishioners as well as money for the
6 missions we support.

Parish Tithing Program
St. Patrick parish tithes 3 percent of the weekend
collections for outreach. A committtee of parishioners
meets monthly to determine the amount and the recipient
of the grant. Grant requests must be made in writing.
The agency or organization applying for a grant must be
in union with the values of the Gospel of Life and
Catholic Social Teaching in order to be considered
for a grant.