Service Ministries

All Saints Sister Parish Relationship

In 2010, St. Monica’s and All Saints Parishes joined to support each other’s ministries and to share our faith.

All Saints Catholic Church, located near 26th and Capitol Drive, was formed in 1994 from the merger of nine north side Catholic parishes. All Saints has approximately 600 families from all over greater Milwaukee. It has a reputation for vibrant liturgies and vital outreach ministries that serve its neighborhood.

The All Saints Director of Ministry is Rosemary Murphy 414-444-5610 Ext. 0532 rosemary.allsaints.mke@gmail.com

All Saints Food Pantry

The All Saints Food Pantry has recently been serving 1000 families a month, and the need has grown with the struggling economy. The unemployed, disabled, families and seniors in the neighborhood all rely on the All Saints Pantry to supplement their meals.

Types of Items Needed: The pantry always needs non-perishable healthy food items, especially high protein foods. Examples include tuna, peanut butter, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Toiletries, formula, diapers, and baby food are always welcome. Please be generous!

Time and Place of Collection: Food is collected every week throughout the year in the baskets at the elevator and Santa Monica entrances.

Volunteers Needed: Drivers and helpers are needed to transport the food from St. Monica’s to All Saints.

Contact: Rebecca Ruesch; rruesch@stme.church

All Saints Meal Program

All Saints Parish serves 70 to 80 dinners a night three nights a week. St. Monica’s meal team prepares the food at their homes and serves the meal on the first Tuesday of every month.

Help Needed: Our assigned menu includes tacos, Spanish rice, fruit, dessert, cider and milk. Provide a portion of the meal (dropped off at a local residence) or help serve and share the meal. All are welcome, including families and teens working on service hours.

Time and Place: First Tuesday of each month. Items prepared are dropped off earlier in the day locally; the meal is served and shared at All Saints near 26th and Capitol from 4:45 to 6:30 p.m.

Contact: Kate Yarbrough, katewyarbrough@gmail.com

Christ Child Society

The Milwaukee Chapter of the Christ Child Society, Inc. is a non-profit Catholic organization of volunteers. The chapter embraces members of all faiths, dedicated to expressing their love of the Christ Child by service to all God’s children. Our interests focus primarily on nurturing the youth of the Greater Milwaukee Area through clothing the newborn, providing parental support, and providing tutorial and scholarship assistance.

We gather and disburse layettes (through some 20 agencies) to needy mothers and emergency care bags to children coming out of a crisis situation. We “follow the child” through our 2nd Saturday program, working directly with mothers and children. We provide tutorial assistance to Northwest Catholic and Blessed Savior South schools and staff the library at Blessed Savior South. We also raise scholarship monies for various needy students. These commitments, which enhance human dignity, reflect the goals and principles of Mary Virginia Merrick, founder of the National Christ Child Society, of which we are members.

Contact: 414-540-0489

website:www.christchildsociety.com.

Funeral Ministry

The St. Monica’s Funeral Ministry provides comfort and hospitality in Donovan Hall to families as they remember and celebrate the life of their loved one. Approximately 6 to 8 times a year, we serve a meal (ordered in by the family) and provide beverages and desserts, usually serving from 50 to 80 people, though occasionally receptions are larger.

Volunteers Needed Now: We presently are in great need of kitchen helpers who are available on one-to-two day notice to help set up, serve a meal, and clean up. Any time available for serving is welcome.

Contact: Anita Fleisch, anitaf3@mac.com to join the contact list.

Health Ministry

The St. Monica’s Health Ministry helps keep our parishioners healthy through blood pressure, flu shot and toenail trimming/foot care clinics throughout the year. We also make some home visits.

Contact: Bernadette Hoeller, sunnybernie@gmail.com.

Knights of Columbus council #4706

We are a charitable and fraternal group of adult Catholic men who are committed to our parish and the wider community. Among our activities are the “Tootsie Roll Drive,” which last year provided $8,000 to children with special needs.

Join our fellowship! In addition to our fundraising and fraternal activities (we meet on the 4th Wednesday of the month at Dominican High School), we enjoy helping with parish events – we are the famous grillers at the parish picnic. We also are available to provide moving and lifting help.

Contact: Financial Secretary Anthony J. Sevcik, tsevcik2@yahoo.com

Ladies of Charity

Ladies of Charity is an international association of women whose goal is to provide service to the poor in the spirit of our founder, St. Vincent De Paul. The special mission of the Milwaukee chapter is our Children’s Clothing Center, located at 1936 N. 4th Street, Milwaukee, at St. Francis Parish. The center is open most Thursdays during the school year from 9 a.m. to noon, and the second Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon.

Families in need, referred by their school social worker or principal, receive a free, modest wardrobe for each school-aged child. Generally this includes a winter jacket, hat, mittens, scarf, 7 pairs of new socks and underwear, 3 pairs of pants, 4 to 6 shirts, a sweater or sweatshirt, and when available, pajamas and school uniform items. Last year, we clothed approximately 1,100 children and we expect that number to grow this year. Each family is allowed to come once a year, and we serve children ages 4 to 18.

Volunteer Needs:

Collect Gently Used Clothes from friends or have a collection at work or school. Occasionally, we need pickups from collections or rummage sales.
Wash and Repair Clothes – we will drop them off at your house.
Work at the Store – weekly or monthly, one hour or three. You can help clients choose clothing or sort clothing brought in. Help is especially needed in early fall, but always welcome.
Cash donations – we need money to purchase new socks and underwear.

Contact: Sharon Pircon, rpircon@wi.rr.com; Sally Lautmann, slautmann@wi.rr.com or Gail Proite Adams, Gailandbill@hotmail.com

Prayer Shawl Ministry

The Prayer Shawl Ministry began in September, 2011. Since then, over 50 shawls have been made by our parishioners and delivered to St. Mary’s Hospital, where they are given to patients. Chaplain Cindy from St. Mary’s tells us that these shawls are incredibly comforting to the recipients, including some of our parishioners.

Contact: The Parish Office 414-332-1576

Respect Life Committee

Belief in the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all Catholic social teaching and the focus of the Respect Life Committee’s work. The Committee focuses on prayer programs, education, counseling and fund raising for various pro-life organizations, including the Women’s Care Center and Pro-Life Wisconsin. There are opportunities for parishioners of all ages, from teens to retirees. The Respect Life Committee participates in Life Chain, 40 Days for Life, the Mother’s Day Rose Sale and Respect Life Awareness Month in January. Our Committee is a member of Catholics 4 Life, a consortium of parishes within the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

Contact: Mary Maug, mmaug@wi.rr.com

eras senior network

Make a difference in the life of an older adult in our area by joining the Eras Senior Network Drive Volunteer Team and providing a ride to a medical appointment or the grocery store. Volunteers also help with friendly visits and occasional small chores like changing light bulbs. Volunteers schedule their own availability, and can always say no – most volunteers donate 3 to 4 hours each month. Let us know also if you or a family member needs our services. Drivers are always greatly needed, and greatly appreciated.

Contact: 414-488-6931 or email: ERASvolunteer@eras.org

St. Ben’s Meal Program

The St. Monica’s team for the St. Benedict the Moor meal program serves approximately 350 people a month at St. Ben’s at 1015 N. 9th Street in Milwaukee. We prepare our sloppy joe meal with buns, fruit jello, fresh vegetables and desserts on the 3rd Monday of each month. Food preparation is done in your home and dropped off locally; serving time is 5 to 6:30 p.m. Servers must be 10 years of age.

Contact: Nancy Kelley, ntk@sbcglobal.net

St. Vincent de Paul Meal Program

The St. Monica’s team serves 100 to 150 people on the 2nd Thursday of each month at the meal program location near North Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Our menu includes spaghetti, bread, salad, dessert, fruit and milk. Prepare food at your home to drop off locally or serve from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Contact: Mary Feldbruegge, mfeldbrueg@gmail.com

St. Vincent de Paul Society

The St. Vincent de Paul members at St. Monica’s have a unique focus on one-to-one personal services through home visitation, aid, information/referral services and problem solving. We use the donations from the poor boxes to help those in need.

Immediate Volunteer Need: We need 4-5 new members who can join our team and volunteer 1-2 hours per month providing services to those in need in our parish.