Human Concerns

Overview
All Saints Meal Program
Cathedral Center Outreach
Inner City Ministry
Interfaith Caregivers
Knights of Columbus
Lasata Monday Mass Volunteers
Mercy’s Mission
Natural Family Planning
Respect Life Ministry
St. Vincent de Paul Society
Uganda Committee (Sister Parish/Twinning)

Overview
The purpose of the SFB Human Concerns ministries is to discern the needs of persons in the parish and wider community, especially the poor, and identify resources to meet those needs enlisting the active cooperation of parishioners. The goal is to fulfill the justice dimensions of scripture and our church tradition, acknowledging that every Christian is called to service and to work for justice, including Respect Life efforts. The scope is twofold: to meet immediate needs and to work for changes in the structures of society that are oppressive. Those involved in the human concerns ministries work with parishioners, community groups and other parishes to help solve related problems. They keep parishioners aware of issues relating to justice, peace, hunger, the homeless, etc. on local, national and international levels so that appropriate Christian action on such issues can be determined.

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All Saints Meal Program
Volunteers reach out to the people in the Milwaukee central city community who come to All Saints Catholic Church for their evening meal. Participants come for a variety of reasons such as financial needs exceeding resources; loneliness; physical or mental challenges; or the inability to prepare a meal at home.

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Cathedral Center Outreach
Those who participate in the Cathedral Center Outreach help the single women and the women/men with families who are staying the night in the emergency shelter at the Cathedral Center in downtown Milwaukee. They provide and serve evening snacks, visit with guests, and prepare bag lunches for the guests to take with them the next day.

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Inner City Ministry
The Inner City Ministry helps the poor and homeless in Milwaukee. Clothing is donated and distributed by parishioners throughout the year. Volunteers also pick up and deliver leftover bakery from area businesses.

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Interfaith Caregivers
Interfaith Caregivers is a faith-based organization that provides, without charge, assistance to senior citizens and residents with disabilities, enabling them to live independently with respect and dignity. St. Francis Borgia is a sponsor of the Ozaukee chapter, and has an Interfaith Caregivers Liaison from the parish. Volunteers can help in many ways, such as light housekeeping, shoveling snow, providing transportation, shopping for groceries, and visiting. Trained volunteers provide respite care services. If you’d like to request help or to provide help, see the Interfaith Caregiver website or call (262) 376-5362.

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Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is an international Catholic organization dedicated to the ideals of charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism. Our local Knights of Columbus, known as the San Salvador Council, serve the Cedarburg-Grafton parishes and communities through a variety of church, community, youth, and member programs. For more information on the Knights of Columbus visit their website at www.kofc.org or contact the SFB Knights of Columbus Representative.

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Lasata Monday Mass Volunteers
Volunteers are needed on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at Lasata Nursing Home to assist residents who wish to attend the afternoon Mass celebrated there. Volunteers bring residents to and from the chapel, prepare the altar for Mass, and afterwards take the priest to rooms of residents who wish to receive communion but who are unable to attend the chapel service. For more information, contact the Lasata Monday Mass Volunteer Coordinator. Also see the newsletter article: Monday Volunteers Help Lasata Residents Attend Mass (Summer 2003).

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Mercy’s Mission
Mercy’s Mission is an outreach program aimed at tending to the spiritual needs of our parishioners who are elderly, homebound, in assisted living situations or in nursing homes. Volunteers help keep contact with these parishioners, who otherwise might feel isolated and forgotten by the parish community.

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Natural Family Planning
The St. Francis Borgia Natural Family Planning Apostolate helps couples live more fully the Church’s teachings on marriage and family. Natural Family Planning is a Church-approved method of child spacing which preserves the sanctity of life and the dignity of marital love. When practiced correctly, Natural Family Planning is a highly effective, healthy method for couples to achieve or defer pregnancy. Natural Family Planning instruction is offered in Cedarburg and consists of four monthly classes taught by an accredited instructor. For more information about Natural Family Planning contact the SFB Natural Family Planning Coordinator. Also see:
• The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops site at www.nccbuscc.org/prolife/issues/nfp; or
• The Marquette University site for the Institute for Natural Family Planning at http://www.marquette.edu/nursing/nfp/; or
• The Couple to Couple League at www.ccli.org.

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Respect Life Ministry
The St. Francis Borgia Respect Life Ministry is committed to both educating parishioners on respect life issues and promoting respect life issues in the community. We believe we will most effectively build the culture of life through prayer. As such, we sponsor prayer vigils and other events that focus on the spiritual side of the pro-life issue. We help educate parishioners through articles in the parish newsletter. In addition, we affirm motherhood through the annual Mother’s Day Rose Sale. We look forward to other suggestions for our respect life activities from interested parishioners. For more information, contact the Respect Life Ministry Coordinator. Also see the Messenger newsletter articles:

Roe v. Wade, A Look Back & Forward (Fall 2005)
Respect Life: Stem Cell Research: Good or Bad? (Fall 2004)
Don’t Forget Those With No Voice (Fall 2002)

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St. Vincent de Paul Society
The St. Vincent de Paul Society is dedicated to helping people in need in the community, regardless of religious affiliation. The Cedarburg conference is part of a worldwide organization and depends on St. Francis Borgia Parish for membership and financial support. The group offers temporary assistance based on referrals from local pastors, other agencies and individuals, with an aim toward helping clients become self-sufficient. All client contact is confidential. For more information, contact the St. Vincent de Paul Representative. Also see the newsletter article: St. Vincent de Paul: Helping in Hard Times (Fall 2003).

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Uganda Committee (Sister Parish/Twinning)
For information on the Uganda Twinning Committee and the Uganda Pilgrimage, click on the Twinning button on the sidebar.

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