Parish Social Ministry


Catholic Charities has as its Third Strategic Direction the object of building caring communities in parishes and the broader community by helping Catholics respond to their baptismal call to meet societal and individual needs.

In order for this to come about, Catholic Charities and its member agencies will assist parishes with the development and implementation of their social ministry. We can:

  • Assist parishes to identify social needs;
  • Provide education and formation to those doing social ministry;
  • Provide resources and support to leaders of social ministry in the parishes;
  • Provide opportunities for continued networking and collaboration among parishes with agencies, schools and community groups.
  

 Our Vision 
Every believer and follower of Christ is called to serve those in need and to work for justice and to pursue peace. But good intentions are not enough. Therefore, to have an effective social ministry Catholic Charities believes that:

  1. Social ministry in a parish must flow from our Catholic social teaching (link to www.osjspm.org/cst). Consequently we not only give food to the hungry, but ask why our brothers and sisters are hungry and work to change the societal structures that allow for poverty.
  2. Social ministry must build community in the parish and within the broader community; thus collaboration among all parishioners and groups within the parish and throughout the broader community is essential. Developing leadership and empowering the laity is an essential part of a good social ministry.
  3. Social ministry must be coordinated and structured. Because of the very nature of this serving ministry, the risks to the most vulnerable must be minimized through proper education and formation, good supervision and ongoing support.
  4. Social ministry must be anchored in prayer; faith sharing and reflection on our Gospel story are integral to a minister's formation and growth.

Each parish is unique with its own needs and gifts and consequently, the process to developing its social ministry is also unique and culturally sensitive.

Parish Social Ministry is simply a name we apply to vision.
The parish is a community of faith, of action and of hope; a place the gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where belivers are called, formed and sent to renew the earth.

As a response to our third Strategic Direction, Catholic Charities places time and effort in assisting in this journey.
Effective social ministry places our social teaching central, and not at the fringe of its parish life, Social ministry then, becomes integral and not optional to the life of parishioners, who use their talents, the resources of our faith, and the opportunities of this democracy to shape a society more respectful of the life, dignity and rights of the human person.

  • Catholic Charities has been successful in supporting the growth of social ministries in parishes by providing
    • Consistency in the vision of social ministry
    • Efficient utilization of its resources for its development
    • Support to parishes and pastors
    • Links to the broader community and neighboring parishes
    • Education and formation on our catholic social teaching and its concomitant action for justice
    • Accountability to the Cardinal and Council of Priests as mandated

At the local level, Catholic Charities, in partnership with its agencies provide the training and formation and support and resources necessary to the parishes on an ongoing basis.
We do not offer a program to be carried out by every parish, nor a set of mandates and additional burdens for parishes whose time and resources are already stretched very thin. We recognize the tremendous efforts already underway in parishes throughout this Archdiocese as it sets forth a broad framework and vision of social ministry.
The parishes receive this help through the work of a Regional Facilitator who acts as a resource to the parishes as they decide how they will respond to the social mission of the church.

In fact, the really successful stories in social ministry are found where parishes work collaboratively within their own walls and with the broader community. These parishes embrace a vision based on our social teachings, and an ecclesiology aligned with the teaching of Vatican II. Moreover, the resources, support and coordination are continuously available from Catholic Charities and its partner agencies.


 top

If you would like to learn more about how to set forth or further develop a broad framework and vision of social ministry in your parish, call

Simon Appolloni, Archdiocesan Coordinator, 416-934-3401 ext. 423

 top