The Bereavement Ministry works with a family immediately after the death of a loved one, helping to plan the liturgy for the funeral Mass. This personal contact helps to ease the anxiety felt at a time of grief. The family is encouraged to take an active part in celebrating the life of the deceased as readers and gift bearers. Members assist as cantors, altar servers, lectors, and Eucharistic Ministers. Annually, the names of the deceased are read during a Mass of Remembrance.

Our Lady Help of Christians: Contact Cathy Belli Duffy
Sacred Heart: Contact Nick Frega

Sacred Heart’s involvement with Bridge Over Troubled Waters began in the fall of 2009 when Bridge was looking for individuals or groups to “adopt a room” in the Bridge houses for homeless teens and young adults. Some participants in the ARISE small faith-sharing group committed themselves to this. With financial support from other members of the parish, the group finished that initial project in the spring of 2010. They then refurnished the room for a new resident in the summer of 2011.

Sacred Heart provided new sheets, comforters/blankets, and matching towels for all seven bedrooms in the moms' house. Currently, Bridge notifies us when new residents move in and Sacred Heart provides new linens and towels.

Contact Cathy Schneider – by email –or phone

Welcome to the Christian Service Committee! Who are we? We're the Advent Tree, Valentine, Easter Egg &
Baby Shower people at Our Lady's! We organize events that, thanks to the generosity of our parishioners, have yielded thousands of Christmas, Valentine's, and baby gifts over the years. Your generosity has provided thousands of meals, desserts, pieces of fruit, snacks, & bottled water for shelter guests. 
Organizations that benefitted include:

• The Women’s Unit at Pine Street Inn
• Shattuck Shelter in Jamaica Plain
• Mass Coalition for the Homeless
• Genesis II
• African Global Village
• Hand of Help Orphanage in Mexico
• Nazareth Residence
• Pregnancy Help
• VinFen
• Bethany House
• and parishioners here at Our Lady’s

Whether you are an organizer, a hands-on server, or a silent and steady contributor, we are happy to have you on board!

Contact Angela Siciliano - by phone 

Sacred Heart provides annual holiday support for St. Ambrose Family Inn, Julie’s Family Learning Program, New England Home for Deaf, and Walden School at the Learning Center for the Deaf. Cards listing specific needs are available in late November, and then gifts are returned at the parish Advent Party in early December for distribution to agencies.

Contact Michelle Solomon

Our Lady's has a sister parish in San Marcos, Honduras. Our group develops ways for our community to serve the needs of the people of San Marcos. They also focus on developing a relationship between the two parishes so that we can learn from one another in solidarity.

Contact Barbara Allaire

The Hospitality Committee coordinates several programs and activities within the parish community, such as welcome baskets, Advent Party, Easter Vigil Party, First Communion reception, and other special events that may arise. 
Contact Nick Frega

This ministry involves visiting people - in nursing homes, hospitals, and private homes within our parish - who are unable to receive the Eucharist at Mass. The Minister of Care spends approximately one to two hours a week, bi-monthly or monthly, whatever your time allows, visiting these parishioners. Ministers of Care serve as vital pastoral connections between the parish community and the sick and the homebound. Ministers of Care bring the spiritual and healing comfort of the Lord, and, themselves, receive personal spiritual enrichment. Training and support are provided.

Our Lady Help of Christians: Contact Chris Graf – by email – by phone
Sacred Heart: Contact Nick Frega

Sacred Heart's parish-wide project to provide Mother Caroline Academy students and teachers with school supplies runs in September. For two weekends, baskets are placed at church entrances for donations. Since the Academy is totally privately funded, they depend on material and financial donations from individuals, churches, and organizations.

Contact Margaret LeBlanc or Jane McGuire
 

Read about Mother Caroline Academy in the Pilot

Sep. 29 2023

Forming the Future: Mother Caroline Academy encounter benefits of music through ukulele    by Wes Cipolla Pilot Staff

Catch MCA on Channel 7 WHDH News in connection with the Greater Grove Hall Main Streets Black Women Lead Banner project! Students were featured alongside local leaders Ed Gaskin, Josh Kraft, Clementina Chéry, Alfreda Harris, and Priscilla Douglas, as they spoke about the purpose and impact of the Black Women Lead Banner project.

Outreach to You sends a cheerful greeting card and note to parishioners who find it difficult to attend Mass regularly because they are home-bound or in a care facility. We want them to know that they are in our thoughts and prayers. All parishioners from both parishes are welcome to participate in this ministry. If you know of any parishioner who would appreciate being remembered in such a way, let us know.  

Contact Kathie Long - by email - by phone

Pax Christi strives to create a world that reflects the Peace of Christ by exploring, articulating, and witnessing to the call of Christian nonviolence. The group meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom.

Contact Ann Capoccia - anncapoccia@verizon.net

After a long hiatus, we are thrilled to welcome families back for a playgroup for infants and toddlers and their caregivers.
We meet in the McPherson Room in Our Lady’s Church building on Wednesdays 10-11am.

Please email Gina Chaimanis at gchaimanis@sholnewton.org if you are interested in connecting with others in the collaborative who are immersed in the work of growing families of faith. We will gather in prayerfulness and playfulness to lift each other up in the Spirit as we undertake this most important work: raising Catholic children!

The Prayer Shawl Ministry is an outreach program that aims to bring comfort to those who are ill or confined to home by giving them a handcrafted shawl made by parishioners. Members of the prayer shawl ministry meet monthly in homes to pray for healing and comfort as they knit or crochet the individual shawls. Some members of the ministry create shawls in their own homes as they themselves are unable to get out. Members also knit or crochet blankets to be presented to the newly Baptized and scarves to be presented to the Confirmands.  Each of these is also accompanied by a tag naming the individual crafter and includes a prayer of welcome.

The shawls are delivered to individuals at home, in the hospital, at rehabilitation facilities, or in nursing homes as the need arises. Each shawl is chosen with the recipient in mind and is tagged with the name of the individual crafter and accompanied by a prayer.

Contact Peg Miller

This group seeks to bring the face of hope and compassion to the men and women who are in our prisons. We work with chaplains from our area prisons to understand the needs that exist. Parishioners visit prisoners while they are in prison and provide guidance and support to those recently released as they make the difficult transition to a new life in their communities. Others participate in religious services at the prisons or help run programs for parents and children, book groups, support groups, etc. We remember and pray always for healing and forgiveness for those who have been victims of crime.

Contact Dorothy Koffel

The Racial Justice Ministry

Vision Statement
The Racial Justice Ministry (RJM) is devoted to enhancing the dignity of all human beings within the Catholic Church and our community.

Mission Statement
- Achieve change by sharing our learning with all those in the Sacred Heart and Our Lady’s (SHOL) Collaborative, throughout the    Archdiocese of Boston, and in partnership with other churches.
- Join with other parishes in encouraging the Archdiocese of Boston and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to address racism and the absence of inclusion
- Promote the reconciliation of racially diverse populations and situations through education within our churches and our community
- Advocate for fairness in criminal justice, housing, health care, education, votiing rights, and economic opportunity
- Continue learning through books, lectures, talks, discussions, and retreats to enhance the effectiveness of the ministry
- Encourage young people and families in the SHOL Collaborative to become aware of and involved in this ministry
- Encourage diversity in ministries and involvement within our parishes

The RJM meets on the second Monday of each month on Zoom. We warmly welcome everyone to join us as we work toward the many goals included in our Mission Statement.

Contact: Lija Joseph or call the parish offices

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVDP) is an international Catholic organization of laypersons with a collaborative conference from Sacred Heart and Our Lady's. The mission of these groups is to help those in need throughout the Greater Newton community, primarily assisting with shelter, food, and clothing. The group also organizes food and clothing drives and assists the parish with Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving meal drives. Are you interested in helping those in our community who are most in need? Do you or someone you know need help? Please contact St. Vincent de Paul.

Contact: Dorothy Koffel, President – svdp@sholnewton.org
 

St. Francis House provides programs for poor and homeless people in downtown Boston. Sacred Heart parish sponsors food collections and delivery to the shelter on a monthly basis. *NB: Since the pandemic, these food drives are no longer happening. Please consider donating food to the Centre Street Food Pantry or Newton's Freedge.

Contact Cathy Schneider - by email - by phone 

On many Sunday mornings after the 10:00 am Mass at Our Lady's, all are invited to the Lower Church Hall for coffee, donuts, and juice. Volunteers are needed to host each week. For a small amount of time and a little effort, one can enjoy the satisfaction of contributing to an important ministry that connects people and builds relationships.

Contact Ginny Arpino or Sr. Mary Farren 

The mission of this ministry is to welcome new members into the Our Lady's parish community and encourage them to become active members of the parish. Our committee periodically hosts new member receptions in order to provide newcomers with information about our parish and its ministries. In addition, we hope to provide opportunities for new people to meet our pastoral staff and other members of the parish. New committee members are always welcome to join us.

Contact Paula Gannon or Jenn Reale