Parish Best Practices
A work in progress (updated June 2009) —we are creating a list of parish social justice best practices. Please send your parish's best practices to IPJC at ipjc@ipjc.org. Include your parish name, city, and contact information.
Global |
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| Support Malaria Net Program | Blessed Teresa of Calcutta-Woodinville |
| Trip to Gulf Area | Blessed Teresa of Calcutta-Woodinville |
| Lay led and planned prayer around global issues (e.g. Iraq War, 25th anniversary of Oscar Romero's death & four Church Women). | Sacred Heart-Bellingham |
| Habitat for Humanity project in Ghana, Africa | St. John Vianney-Kirkland |
| Contribute to Microloans | Mary Queen of Peace-Sammamish St. Joseph-Seattle |
| Sister Parish in Ghana, Africa | Mary Queen of Peace-Sammamish |
| Sister Parish in Namitembo, Malawi, Africa Sister Parish in Malawi, Africa |
St. Bridget - Seattle |
| Sister Parish in El Salvador | St. Joseph - Seattle |
| Support for a mechanized borehole in Ghana, Africa in collaboration with CRS, World Vision, Unicef, Carter Center, WATER, Ghana Health Services. St. John Vianney is willing to do presentations on these projects for other groups. | St. John Vianney-Kirkland |
| Youth missions to migrant communities in Mt. Vernon & Sunnyside | St. John Vianney-Kirkland |
| Teen/Adult missions to Mexico | Christ the King-Seattle |
| Fair Trade chocolate tasting during parish social hour | St. Matthew-Seattle |
| "$2 can change the world" | St. Matthew-Seattle |
| Fair Trade Coffee after Masses/Fair Trade Gift markets | St.
Michael-Olympia St. Joseph-Seattle |
| Sister Parish Project in Vietnam | St. Michael-Olympia |
| "Journey of the Heart" retreats in Juarez, Mexico | St. Michael-Olympia |
| Sponsored Habitat for Humanity house | St. Rose - Longview |
Local
Poverty/Hunger |
||
| Hunger Banquet | Blessed
Sacrament-Seattle |
|
| St. Vincent de Paul Society | St.
John Vianney-Kirkland |
Mary Queen of Peace-Sammamish |
Hosting Tent City for Homeless/Tent City support (collecting donations) |
Blessed
Teresa of Calcutta-Woodinville St. Joseph-Seattle St. John Vianney-Kirkland St. Jude-Redmond St. Luke - Shoreline |
|
| Support
St. Martin de Porres Men's Shelter (including food and overflow shelter) |
Christ the King-Seattle |
|
| Support Benedict House for homeless men | Our Lady Star of the Sea - Bremerton | |
| Hope House—basic assistance for those who are in need | Assumption-Bellingham | |
| Weekly/monthly meals for homeless/community | Assumption-Bellingham Sacred Heart-Bellingham St. Bridget-Seattle |
|
| Assumption House—1 family temporary housing for up to 1 year | Assumption-Bellingham | |
| "Soup and Substance" program: shared soup and readings of social justice | Blessed Sacrament-Seattle | |
| Serve meals to 100-130 homeless the third Sunday of each odd numbered month. Sunday morning liturgy focuses on the food, preparers and servers are blessed and commissioned | Our Lady of the Lake-Seattle | |
| Together We Care—Self-help website for those who need work | Our Lady of the Lake-Seattle | |
| Food Bank/Clothing Bank | Sacred Heart-Lacey St. Bridget-Seattle St. Michael-Olympia |
|
| Summer Garden (free garden space/produce) Created pea patch garden - donated 350 lbs. of food to food bank |
Sacred Heart-Lacey St. Thomas More-Lynnwood |
|
| Supporting Dental Van | St. Anthony-Renton | |
| Way back Inn— Transitional Housing |
St.
Anthony-Renton Whatcom County Interfaith Coalition- Bellingham |
|
| Sell parishioners small packet of St. Vincent de Paul vouchers, McDonald’s gift cards, or any other small gift card to give to needy | St. Bernadette-Seattle | |
| S.O.S.—feeding hungry | St. Brendan-Bothell | |
| Giving Tree Advent/Service Tree Lent | St.
Brendan-Bothell St. Jude-Redmond |
|
| Orion Center for homeless youth | St. Bridget-Seattle | |
| Cathedral Kitchen, serves meals to 130-150 people every weekday | St. James-Seattle | |
| First Nations House—transitional housing for recovering Native Americans | St. James-Seattle | |
Housing Advocacy Committee—an Action Alert network of parishioners who have agreed to take action once a month |
St. James-Seattle | |
| The Hunthausen Fund, providing grants and loans for persons moving from homelessness to permanent housing | St. James-Seattle | |
| Operation Nightwatch | St. James-Seattle | |
| Van Ministry | St. James-Seattle | |
| Sonshine Ministry—outreach to people who need temporary assistance with meals etc. | St. John Vianney-Kirkland | |
| Homelessness & Housing committee/board | St. Joseph-Seattle | |
| Overnight homeless shelter for men | St. Joseph-Seattle | |
| Food Pantry | St. Jude-Redmond | |
| Soup Supper during Lent—diners contribute cost of regular meal | St. Matthew-Seattle | |
| Men's/Women's Shelters | St. Michael-Olympia | |
| "Feed my Sheep": prepare and deliver a meal to shelter | St. Thomas More-Lynnwood | |
Medical/Dental Clinic |
Whatcom County Interfaith Coalition- Bellingham |
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Young
Adult |
|
| Micah 6:8 Tennis and Social Justice Camp | Blessed Teresa of Calcutta-Woodinville |
| Youth group service/mission trips | St.
Brendan-Bothell St. Bridget-Seattle |
Children’s Hospital outreach program |
St. Bridget-Seattle |
| "Young Adult Special Forces Unit"—provides help with chores/moving/cleaning for special cases | St. James-Seattle |
| Young Adult Annual "Warm Hearts and Soles" collection of socks for homeless | St. James-Seattle |
| St. James Cathedral weekly Taize service for young adults of various parishes | St. James-Seattle St. Joseph-Seattle |
| "Speak Easy Thursdays" Young Adult Group: dinner, discussion, prayer and readings | St. Joseph-Seattle |
| "Called and Gifted" justice workshop for young adults | St. Joseph-Seattle |
| Lifeteen & Edge—Youth Ministry | Mary Queen of Peace-Sammamish St. Michael-Olympia |
Elders |
|
| "Adopt a senior" by parishioners | Anonymous |
| Monthly Senior Luncheon | Mary Queen of Peace-Sammamish |
| Senior Prom for Senior Citizens | St. Brendan-Bothell |
| "Helping Hands": helping with chores of elderly | St. Brendan-Bothell |
| Annual Valentine's Day party for seniors | St. James-Seattle |
Environment |
|
| On Earth Day, car free or carpooling Mass. Parish and school use Pax Christi Prayer for Global Restoration and distribute prayer cards to everyone as they exit all Masses and to children at the school | Our Lady of the Lake-Seattle |
| Eco-Tips in Parish Bulletin | Our Lady of the Lake - Seattle |
| Earth Day Tree with action items to be picked on each "leaf" or "flower" or Outreach Giving Tree with "apples" to pick during Lent. Each apple lists an action picked by a person or family | Our Lady of Sorrows-Snoqualmie |
| Environmental justice advocacy group | St. James-Seattle |
| Eco-justice commission | St. Joseph-Seattle |
General
Social Justice/Community Building |
|
| Relationship with St. Peter Claver (New Orleans) helping “rebuild” homes/lives after Katrina | Christ the King-Seattle |
| Knit/crochet prayer shawls for blessing presented to seriously ill parishioners during a healing service | Holy Disciples-Puyallup |
| Lenten Soup Suppers featuring speakers on social justice issues | Holy Family - Kirkland |
| Local-vore Meal: JustFaith group sharing potluck from local food ingredients | Mary Queen of Peace-Sammamish |
Voter registration information prior to Election Day |
Mary Queen of Peace-Sammamish |
| Continuing two-year correspondence with the US Catholic Bishops on Iraq and periodic letters to elected officials. Parish website links to this correspondence | Our Lady of the Lake-Seattle |
| Parish wide theme: common goal so whole parish can unite with a shared sense of purpose. All committees and sub-groups develop projects or programs to "live their faith" toward that theme | Our Lady of Sorrows-Snoqualmie |
Animals as natural therapy |
Sacred Heart-Bellingham |
| CST Programs: schedule occasional education and discussion of documents (e.g. Columbia River Letter "A Place at the Table"). This is usually led and facilitated by parishioners, not "experts" | Sacred Heart-Bellingham |
| 1 ½ hour study session after Masses (e.g. National Bishop's letter on immigration) | Sacred Heart-Bellingham |
| Pax Christi groups: meet monthly for prayer, study and action | Sacred Heart-Bellingham |
| Social Justice Book Club | Sacred
Heart-Bellingham |
| Health Ministry—post hospital care follow-up | Sacred Heart-Bellingham |
| Mission experience in Mt. Vernon—bring blankets, food, clothing to migrant workers | Sacred Heart-Lacey |
| Support of migrant workers through drives and monthly visits | Holy Family - Kirkland |
| Parish Nurse Program—check blood pressure, foot care for elderly/poor | Sacred Heart-Lacey |
Peace and Justice Commission |
Our Lady of the Lake - Seattle St. Brendan-Bothell St. Rose - Longview |
| Meet with local service programs to learn where help is needed and who is "falling through the cracks" | St. Brendan-Bothell |
| "Dinner for 8": quarterly meal and social justice discussion group | St. Brendan-Bothell |
| Social Justice Speaker Series | St. Brendan-Bothell |
| Interfaith celebration including Jewish, Muslim and Christian people | St. Francis of Assisi-Burien |
| AIDS Care team, providing practical assistance and emotional | St. James-Seattle |
ESL Courses |
St. James-Seattle |
| Catholic Relief Services/Work of Human Hands Fair Trade advent bazaar | St. James-Seattle |
| Music Ministry | St. James-Seattle |
| Pregnancy Support Ministry – providing practical assistance and emotional support to pregnant and newly parenting women | St. James-Seattle St. Michael-Olympia |
| Volunteer Chore – providing practical assistance to enable seniors to remain in their homes | St. James-Seattle |
| Social justice movie night | St. Matthew-Seattle |
Community Kitchen – Weekly meal prepared by one of several church groups |
St. Michael-Snohomish |
| "Beyond Just Faith": participants continue to meet/share/support one or two nights per month | St. Michael-Olympia |
| Sunday bulletin social justice column with education/activities suggestions | St. Michael-Olympia |
| Quarterly
education programs tying social justice topics to current practice
(e.g. Fair Trade Sale, Church's teachings on Just War, Bread for the World letter writing and poverty/hunger education) |
St. Michael-Olympia |
| Working with CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in drug-addicted or abusive families | St. Rose - Longview |
Detention
Ministry |
|
| Choir members and parishioners provide music and worship for monthly mass at Neil Island Corrections Center | Holy Disciples-Puyallup |
| Collect filled duffle bags for inmates upon release | Holy Disciples-Puyallup |
| Collect toys for father-child gift exchange | Holy Disciples-Puyallup |
| Collect yarn for inmates to knit scarves and hats for homeless and other people in need | Holy Disciples-Puyallup |
| Bible Study with children at Echo Glen, Washington's Juvenile Detention Center | Our Lady of Sorrows- Snoqualmie |
| Solanus Casey Center—joint ministry provides information and referrals for homeless persons and persons transitioning from detention | St. James-Seattle |
Seattle, WA 98115