Previous Spotlight

What is Historic St Patrick’s ARAS?

Formerly known as Altar and Rosary Society, the name changed to Altar, Rosary and Activity Society to indicate the offering of additional activities such as Thanksgiving Dinner, pancake breakfasts, Chili Supper, St Patrick’s Day dinner and an Ice Cream Social as opportunities for fellowship.  Unfortunately, due to COVID many of these activities have been suspended. With time we hope to return to our social and fellowship activities, especially if we can offer an outdoor cookout with takeout capabilities. Multiple volunteers are needed to make these events successful – and remember “Many hands make light work.”!

However, many other activities did continue – cleaning of the church, prayer blanket ministry, sending cards to parishioners. Prior to the pandemic, ARAS has worked with the Youth Group and Choir members to visit area nursing homes and sing Christmas songs.  Another vital service we provide is coordinating of Funeral Lunches here at Historic St Patrick upon request. 

We invite you to share your time, talent and treasure – Fr Stirniman always reminds us of the different ways we can serve our parishes.

If you are interested in joining ARAS, either as an occasional helper, or something more permanent for any of the activities mentioned above, please contact (by phone or text) Cathy at 309-750-3493 , Marilyn  at 309-826-8409 or Alan at 269-744-2146

Keep watching the Ministry Spotlight and the Lend a Hand page for additional information.

With Christmas coming to an end, our 2021 Giving Tree has also come to a successful end.  While COVID made it quite a bit different, we were still able to help those in need.

Starting back in September, our committee of Jamie, Megan and Diane contacted and coordinated wish lists from 55 individuals of all ages from 25 local families in need.

They created virtual signups, shopped for unclaimed items, wrapped anyunwrapped gifts, and organized it all to be delivered to the correct families. Susan worked on making winter hats for those in need.  This ministry is no small feat and required parish effort!

Additional volunteers were needed for deliveries in time for Christmas. Many thanks to Megan, Dave, Kait, Noah, Nora, Ruby. Luke, Liam, Jeff, Kylie,  Reed and Don. 

Without the combined efforts of our parishioners, we would not have been able to finish another successful Giving Tree for our parishes!     

*If you would like to join our giving tree efforts next year, please contact Jen or Elaine at the Parish Center.

If you have ever attended a monthly Breakfast at Holy Trinity, Chili Cook-off or Trivia Night then you have experienced the Hospitality Group.

They serve various breakfasts from simple coffee & donuts and breakfast pizza to pancakes & sausage and even omelets on Super Bowl Sundays.  They are a small group with friendly smiles and welcoming hearts – always looking to welcome more members for the occasional event.  Remember, “Many Hands…”  Their Mission is to foster community within our Parishes and be a welcoming place for all. 

If you would like to join our committee, we have two options:

1 - join our committee and help plan and serve at our events

2 - join our email list to be notified of our upcoming events and ways that we could we use help for certain events such as set-up or tear down. (This option would be a no-commitment way to serve on an as needed basis)

*If you have teens needing service hours, this is a great way to get them!

If you have any questions, or would like to be added to our list, please email Brenda Jenkins at dbjen07@yahoo.com

We look forward to welcoming new members and continue serving the parishioners of Holy Trinity! 

Join us for the next Welcome Weekend Breakfast & Ministry Fair on Sunday, January 9^th after the 10am Mass in the lower level of Holy Trinity!

You might know who we are – Kay Marvin, Heather Schofield and Donna Redding – but you might not know what we do to support the health of our parishioners and our church community.

We’re all Faith Community Nurses (parish nurses), licensed registered nurses who specialize in faith community nursing, the practice of holistic health for self, parishioners and the community using nursing knowledge combined with spiritual care.

Parish nursing began in the mid-1980s in Chicago through the efforts of Rev. Dr. Granger Westberg as a reincarnation of the faith community nursing outreach done by religious orders, such as the "Parish Deaconesses" in Europe and America in the 1800s. Rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and the practice of professional nursing, it is consistent with the basic assumptions of many faiths that we care for self and others as an expression of God's love. 

We began our parish nursing ministry in 2014 after completing specialty certification education and continue to provide nursing care to parishioners and families at both Historic St. Patrick and Holy Trinity parishes. We have served in nearly 1100 interactions and provided about 1400 hours of care. We are volunteers, and there is no charge for any of our nursing services. And what can we do for you and your family?

Our primary role is as a case manager to make sure our parishioner clients have the health care resources they need in a wide variety of circumstances.

*Coordinate after-hospital care for parishioners 

*Teach about medications and health-related treatments

*Advise parishioners on how to manage chronic or acute illnesses

*Refer to other health care colleagues as needed 

*Provide educational sessions about a range of health-related topics for parishioner groups

We communicate with clients by phone, make home or hospital or long term care facility visits, and communicate with other health care providers on behalf of our clients.

We do physical assessments and screenings including monthly blood pressure checks at our monthly church breakfasts. Stop by and say "hi" at the next Welcome Weekend Breakfast - We would love to meet you!

Our goal is to help our parishioners meet their health care needs, physically, spiritually and emotionally. You can contact us through Donna Redding at redding.donna@outlook.com or by calling 309-824-0857. We’ll look forward to taking care of you!

And a special note to other nurses in our parishes: if you’d like to join us in our ministry, call Donna to learn more about becoming a Faith Community Nurse.