St. Andrew Catholic Church

Support

Ministry to the Homebound/Hospital Ministry

This ministry brings the Eucharist to St. Andrew parishioners who are homebound, in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, hospitals, etc. For more information, contact the parish office at 574-4545.

Bereavement

St. Andrew is the largest parish in the Diocese of Venice. With over 4,000 families, there are many people in need on a weekly basis for support after the loss of a loved one. This committee, along with our parish priests, helps with this need. Our Mission Statement: Walking with our brothers and sisters who are grieving the loss of loved ones. To listen and console with patience, heart-felt sympathy, and prayer. For more information, please call Don and Joanne Decker at 945-4777. No member of our parish family grieves alone.

Disaster Preparedness

It is important for us to know that the elderly of our parish are taken care of in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. This committee helps to compile a listing of homebound elderly parishioners and works with the Lee County Emergency Management to provide care for these parishioners if the need should arise. For more information, please call Pete at 574-4545.

St. Vincent DePaul Society

St. Vincent DePaul is a service organization whose purpose is to help the needy. This is accomplished with funds collected in the poor boxes located near the church doors. Volunteers make house calls to the needy and evangelize whenever possible. Anyone in need of assistance, please call the parish office. Volunteers are always welcome. Please contact Ronnie Madsen at 772-3543.

Rainbows for all God's Children

This program is a peer-support program designed to help children and adults deal with initial grieving and ongoing coping in their particular situations. Children meet with small groups of their own age level, with a trained adult, in an atmosphere of confidentiality. As they share experiences and feelings, group members discover that they are not alone in their situation, nor are they responsible for it. As they support and help one another, each one grows in self-esteem and self-confidence.

This is not a counseling or therapy program. Be assured, also, that confidentiality in this context is explained to the children as "privacy". They are free to tell about what they said or did but not about what another group member said or did. Confidentiality also applies to the adult facilitators. For more information, please contact Denise York at 694-5885.

Stewardship Committee

This committee helps all parishioners to celebrate the Biblical theme of tithing in the stewardship way of life. Stewardship is living and sharing the gifts God has given us of time, talent and treasure. In Luke 6:38, it is written: "Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Talent is defined as our special God-given abilities, which we can share with our family, parish, or community. Time is the gift God gives us in the 24 hours we get at the start of each new day, sharing that with others through volunteering and through prayer can be the best use of our time. Treasure is the gift of our possessions. Sacrificial giving is a powerful way of showing we truly believe that all we posses, has been given to us by God. Stewardship living requires a leap of faith. For more information, please contact Reggie Knight at 540-6989.

Annual "Gift Giving Tree" Christmas Project

The purpose of this committee is to prepare two Christmas trees with special tags for in front of the cry rooms in the church. Each tag suggests a gift for parishioners to be purchased, wrapped, and placed back under the tree. The committee gathers these gifts and coordinates the distribution of the gifts to various agencies who have requested assistance in sharing Christmas gifts with their community. If interested contact Anne Spears at 574-2411.

Welcoming Committee

The members of this committee assist new parishioners in feeling "welcomed" as a new parishioner. Along with welcoming them, they assist in answering questions about the parish and community. Our "New Member Welcomes" are held the last Thursday of each month at 7pm. For more information, please contact Fran or Jack Robine at 573-1499.