St. Catherine's Supper Family

This ministry delivers weekly dinners to injured, ill, recovering, stressed, or grieving parishioners. Short and long term assistance is offered. Join us by preparing and delivering meals, or by referring a parishioner.  Participation dependent on the needs of our parish community.  Questions?  Contact Janine Hellems at janinehellems@outlook.com

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Knitters and crocheters meet monthly to pray and create shawls for people in the greater community in need of prayerful support and attention. They meet the first Monday of the month at 9:30 AM or the last Wednesday of the month at 7 PM in the Parish Library.   

Questions?  Contact geolyne@frontier.com

Social Justice Ministry

This ministry fosters principles of social justice and provides for the less fortunate locally and worldwide. This is done through sponsoring outreach speakers from social action and charitable groups at weekend liturgies, conducting workshops on social issues, and planning/organizing initiatives to assist those in need. Meetings are the third Tuesday of the month in the Library. Time TBD by the group.

Questions?   Contact Karen Zielinski at familyz4@rochester.rr.com

Monthly Food Collection

Usually on the third weekend of each month, St. Catherine has a food collection for a local organization or food pantry.  Check the bulletin each month for the organization being served and their needs. If you are interested in helping, please contact Karen Zielinski at familyz4@rochester.rr.com.

Thanksgiving Outreach

Each year we distribute grocery store gift cards to local families in need, so they can purchase a Thanksgiving dinner. Favorite places to shop are: The Marketplace, Aldi’s, Wegman’s & Walmart.   Please place your gift cards in an envelope marked “St. Catherine’s Thanksgiving Food Appeal.” You may drop them in the collection baskets in church or in the locked drop box outside the Parish Office. You may also donate to the Good Samaritan Fund on our website and we will purchase the gift cards. Gift cards are typically needed by the middle of November.  Questions - contact Sally Whitbeck (sjwhitbeck109@gmail.com) or Phyllis Hagen (pyhagen3@gmail.com).

Christmas Outreach

If you wish to sponsor a child for Christmas, please contact Phyllis Hagen (pyhagen3@gmail.com). The remaining children’s needs and wishes will be posted on St. Catherine’s Gift Appeal Registries. (Amazon & Target) beginning in early November, and a link will be posted here.  You will be able to browse and purchase items of your choice. Your items will be shipped directly to Sally Whitbeck's & Phyllis Hagen’s homes so you won't need to drop them off at St. Catherine's. We will shut the registries down by early December to allow for shipping time. In years past, we helped over 45 local children have a nicer Christmas.

We also accept donations of new/gently used toys & children’s books, adult & children’s clothing, boots, shoes, coats, hats, mittens, etc. bed/bath/kitchen linens. Kitchen items and new personal hygiene items are also desperately needed. We cannot accept home décor or fine china. Drop off for these items can be made before and after Masses (dates TBD, usually early December) at the Community Center. Local families may choose items when they come for Christmas pick-up.  We will need volunteers to help sort these items. Contact Phyllis, Sally (sjwhitbeck109@gmail.com), or Diane Kozakiewicz (diakoz52@hotmail.com) if you can help or have questions. 

The Christmas Food Appeal will be the same as Thanksgiving. Gift cards & donations should be dropped off by  early December.

As always, we and local families are deeply grateful for your continued support

Lorraine's Caring Connections

Come and join us, or create at home, in making 'thinking of you' cards that will be sent to people on our prayer list, nursing homes, and others who need a bright spot in their day.  We meet 4 times a year after a 9 am weekday Mass at St. Catherine's to write the cards, or you can write them at home.  Contact Diane Kozakiewicz at 585-781-0736.

St. Catherine’s partners with Matthew’s Closet, an outreach of Our Lady of the Americas Parish in Rochester, by providing gently used clothing and linens donated to our Collection Box which is located in the Church parking lot. Matthew’s Closet provides clothing, linens and miscellaneous household goods free of charge to clients referred by over 100 agencies in the Rochester area. It is also functions as a thrift shop selling items at nominal cost which helps pay for their expenses.

St. Catherine’s Matthew’s Closet Ministry is a very active and is the largest source of donated items for Matthew’s Closet. Volunteers are needed to empty the collection box, located in our parking lot, and transport the items to the facility on Bay Street. The time commitment is for a two week period. Depending on vehicle size, two to four deliveries are made during this period.

Questions?  Contact Jim and Sallie Dakins  at sjdakins@rochester.rr.com

The Good Samaritan Fund reaches out to neighbors experiencing temporary hardships by offering confidential financial assistance for basic human needs.

• It’s an emergency fund to help those temporarily struggling due to job loss, illness, accidents, temporary and permanent disabilities, fire, spousal abandonment or other unforeseen situations.
• Assistance is provided with direct payment to businesses such as utility companies, landlords/mortgage companies, medical-related businesses, insurance companies or transportation providers.
• The fund helps local families and individuals in Rochester and the surrounding areas at any time of the year.
• The fund is open to any neighbor in need. Assistance is not restricted based on town residency or religious affiliation.
• Needs are considered on a case by case basis and are subject to a confidential screening process. All assistance is confidential.
• 100% of the donations to St. Catherine's Good Samaritan Fund go to those in need, there are no administrative costs.
• Questions?  Contact Phyllis Hagen at pyhagen3@gmail.com

This ministry provides gently used children's books to Rochester city children. Volunteers are needed to clean, sort, label books, and to restock shelves as needed. There are no meetings. Volunteer as your schedule permits. 

Questions?  Contact Jody Beckett or Allison DiMarco

Eight 4 World Hope mission is to give hope to the voiceless, one community at a time by providing a safe, stable, learning environment that fosters long-term opportunity for individuals and families.  Our organization was established shortly after a college reunion at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y., in the fall of 2009. Many of those in attendance were inspired and moved by the lives that our classmate, Kevin Carges, had touched through his role as a deacon for the Diocese of Rochester. In particular, his passion for the people of Haiti, Jamaica, and other developing countries sparked a desire within each of us to follow suit and to do what we could to help those who need it most. That led to the creation of Eight 4 World Hope, which stands for the seven founding members of our group and the symbolic presence of Jesus guiding us in our good works.

Questions?  Contact Deacon Kevin Carges at kevin.carges@dor.org