Committed to the truth that no man, woman or child should ever go hungry,
Cor Unum Meal Center serves breakfast and dinner
7  days a week to those in need.

Cor Unum Meal Center
                    Lawrence,Massachusetts

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed this ministry on haitus. We pray for its return!

To learn more about Cor Unum, click below
Cor Unum Meal Center

Lowell Transitional Living Center
Annual Thanksgiving Collection

Each year, just in time for the arrival of the cold New England winter, we host a collection in support of the Lowell Transitional Living Center.

Whenever we conduct this collection, we remember that small acts of kindness done with great love can change people’s lives. Your donation, no matter how large or small, can make a real difference in someone’s life. And remember, be thankful that you’re able to give!

The items that we typically collect are:

What We Do

Faith Community Nursing Ministry is an outreach ministry that provides support for some of the health and well-being needs of our Collaborative family. We provide direct care through our blood pressure clinics and also provide transportation, shopping and at-home visits. Our ministry sponsors informational programs during the year on a variety of topics to benefit our community. Our dedicated members are both medical and non-medical volunteers. We welcome anyone with a desire to service those in needs to join us!

Transportation and Home Services: arranged on an individual basis
Speaker Programs: Information on upcoming events can we found in the bulletin and our website
  
Why We Do What We Do

As members of the Mystical Body fo Christ, we believe in actively living the gospel mandate to serve one another in the name of Jesus Christ. This means caring by partaking in both the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, educating by sharing health care information and seeing our neighbor as anyone in need.

Charlene Muscato, RN was the founder of our Ministry. She was a long time parishioner of St. John the Evangelist. Her community nursing experience led her to complete the Faith Community Nursing certification course sponsored by the Archdiocese of Boston in 2019 and establish this Ministry. She will always be remembered with love and gratitude for all she has begun.
 
When We Do It

Do you have a loved one who is struggling with addiction? 
Do you feel helpless and/or hopeless? You are NOT alone! 

The Family Connection is a parish-based ministry that has been in existence since 2017. It provides support for families dealing with alcohol and/or drug abuse of a child, spouse, grandchild or friend. Our aim is to provide families/friends with a better understanding of the disease of addiction through educational reading materials, videos, and discussions. We also have speakers who share their stories of recovery and how they are now living healthy, happy lives.
 
This confidential meeting provides a compassionate and supportive environment that encourages those in attendance to share their questions, feelings and concerns in order to learn from each other and gain hope during a very difficult time.
 
Please contact [email protected] for further information or if you would like to join us.

Hope after Heartbreak
A Journey of Healing for those who have lost a child

No parent should outlive their child, and yet it happens. And the pain that follows that loss, at times feels insurmountable. It is a cross that weighs so heavy that you may believe you are breaking under its weight. Please know that you are not alone in this walk.

Paula, who has experienced the recent loss of her adult son, is hoping to journey alongside others who also walk this path. Whether your loss is recent or some time ago, you are reminded… you are not alone. It is in being with others who share this experience where healing can begin can take place. It is here where stories can be shared, tears can be validated and honored, and hope can begin to take root.

This group meets on the 1st Thursday of the month in the St. Mary Parish Center (Room 5) from 6:30 - 8:00 pm. 

If you are interested in attending or learning more, Paula can be reached at (978) 427-5834 or at [email protected].
 

Hope and Healing
              Adult Grief Support Group

We typically meet on the last Saturday of the Month • St. John OPC • 10:30 am - 12 noon

When a loved one dies, everything changes in your family, in your life and in your dreams. Know YOU ARE NOT ALONE in your grief and loneliness. The Hope and Healing Adult Grief Support Group is now offered with meetings on the last Saturday of each month from September till May. Any grieving adult who have experience the death of a loved one is welcome to join us in a safe place to share their story, find comfort, hope and encouragement, as they continue a new path in life without their deceased loved one.  Registration is not required.

• 2024 Dates | September 28 | October 26 | November 30 | December 28
• 2025 Dates | January 25 | February 22 | March 29 | April 26 | May 31

Marriage Encounter
A Weekend for Good Marriages to be even Better!

Worldwide Marriage Encounter is designed to give married couples the opportunity to examine their lives together . . . a time to share their feelings, hopes, disappointments, joys and frustrations . . . and to do so openly and honestly in a face-to-face, heart-to-heart encounter with the one person they have chosen to live with for the rest of their lives. The emphasis of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend is on communication between husband and wife, who spend a weekend together away from the distractions and tensions of everyday life, to concentrate on each other. It's not a retreat, nor a marriage clinic, nor group sensitivity. It's a unique approach aimed at revitalizing Christian Marriage. This is a time for you and your spouse to be alone together, to rediscover each other and together focus on your relationship for an entire weekend. Every marriage deserves that kind of attention!

Marriage Encounter Weekends have been given in the US since 1967. Decades of research, planning and tried and true wisdom have gone into the content of the Weekend, which has been presented to couples since 1967. All sharing between spouses is PRIVATE, and this is NOT a weekend to solve problems, but it WILL help couples in good marriages communicate even better.

For more information, visit Marriage Encounter.

In line with the Pope Francis' National Catholic Mental Health Campaign, Charlene Gibson, a St. Mary Parishioner, is looking to start a Mental Health Ministry within the
Collaborative. Charlene is a registered nurse and currently attending school to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.
 
In order to get the conversation started, Charlene is looking for AT LEAST 3-4 people to take an online course entitled Intro to Catholic Mental Health Ministry. This is a free course that begins in September, 2024. Wondering if this is for you? It IS if you have a desire to:

• be an instrument of hope to people and families struggling with mental health challenges
• be part of a team of mental health ministers where isolation and stigma is dissipated and a supportive prayerful community is created

The training is offered through Catholic Mental Health Ministries.  To learn more about this association, you can visit their website. Questions about this soon-to-be ministry, you can contact Charlene at (978) 758-7490 or [email protected].

Catholic Mental Health Ministries Website                                         

Below is a link to an unofficial sign-up sheet so we can get an idea as to how many are interested. Once we have a group of individuals—at least 3 or 4—who have taken the course in September, then we will move forward in getting the program officially started.

Interest Form

If being ‘hands-on’ with this ministry is not for you, then we ask that you put your ‘hands-together’ in praying for the success of this ministry, as well as those who struggle with mental health challenges. May we serve them well!
 
 

Do you need prayers said for someone or a special intention?

Simply call (978) 256-2374, ext 223, state your intention and be assured that over 40 members of our ministry will pray for your intention. If after hours, press 5.

Note that prayer requests NEVER come off the list! They continue to be offered by our members, with the belief that God distributes the merits of our continued prayers to where they are most needed.

Need a hug or know someone who does?
Know someone who needs to be reminded of God's love, grace and meecy?

Consider the uplifting gift of a prayer shawl! 
Please click on the below link to place your request for a prayer shawl.

Request a Prayer Shawl
 

The St. Margaret
  Prayer Shawl Ministry

began in 2011 as a choir member battled cancer. She wanted no one to see the toll that the illness took on her body and refused non-family visitors. How do you comfort someone without being there? Another choir member saw an article in a local newsletter about Prayer Shawl Ministries. This talented knitter created a shawl for our suffering friend to let her know that God loved her, and so did we. In October 2011, she received the first Prayer Shawl from what became our ministry.

To keep our shawls from collecting dust in storage, we began reaching out to chaplains at hospitals and clinics, and to those who minister at nursing homes, retirement homes and assisted-living centers. Now, we regularly deliver completed prayer shawls to them for distribution. Since our ministry began, we have distributed over 1000 shawls and many many chemo caps.  Of course, if a need arises in our own parish family, we handle that as well.

As we knit, crochet or sew these shawls in private, we may wonder if our work really matters. Fortunately, the LORD frequently gives us a look at how He uses the work of our hands.  Following is a thank you note that we recently received from a hospital chaplain. (To respect recipient privacy, I try not to include names.)

I wanted to send my sincere thanks for including …our hospital… in your ministry.  The shawls are not only beautiful, but have been extremely meaningful to those who receive them. As we become more accustomed to their availability, we are finding more patients who will benefit from them.

 

I recently gave one to a gentleman who was going to undergo an amputation. It brought tears to his eyes, and when I visited afterward it was laying across him.Thank you, from him and from all of us in the chaplain’s office.

Please pray for those whom we serve and for our service. If you would like to be part of the ministry, let us know. We will add you to our mailing list and keep you informed about when and where we will meet.

To obtain a shawl for someone in need or to join the ministry, call Brenda D’Amour at (978) 453-2723 or Anna Pratt at (508) 517-7507. Leave a message if we don’t answer; we’ll get back to you.

Rachel mourns her children; She refuses to be consoled because her children are no more. Thus says the Lord: "Cease from your cries of mourning. Wipe the tears from your eyes...There is hope for your future." 
                                                               -Jeremiah 31:15-17

The Project Rachel Ministry of the Archdiocese of Boston extends a special invitation to women suffering from the pain of a past abortion to attend a one-day retreat held at a confidential location. Because the retreat is limited to 10 participants, pre-registration is required. To register, or for more information, contact Project Rachel at (508) 651-3100 or help@projectrachelboston.com, or visit their website.

                                                                                      Project Rachel

St. John SVdP Food Pantry 

From this food pantry, we are able to assist our neighbors in need. We accept donations of non-perishable items on the third weekend of every month. Bring your donations to church with you and drop them off at the main entrance and our Vincentians will be sure that they get delivered to our pantry. We are not permitted to distribute any produces that have expired.
 
We are also extremely grateful to all who donate to the SVdP Society through the poor box located at the back of the church and through the envelope system (envelopes can be found at both church entrances). All monetary and food donations help those in need who live in our parish boundaries.  
 

St. Mary Table Ministry Food Collection           
First Saturday of every Month

Please consider a donation of canned ham, canned corn, canned green beans, regular drip coffee or juice mix. Donations are welcome at any time. They can be dropped into the box on the Parish Center Side entrance of St. Mary Church.

Table of Plenty

The Table of Plenty is a non-profit organization in Chelmsford, Massachusetts consisting of volunteers who desire to share community with those in need. We serve a free weekly meal to alleviate hunger and social isolation for individuals and families in a friendly and welcoming environment.  ALL ARE WELCOME — no questions asked, ever.

Sit-down meals are served every Tuesday from 5 - 6 pm at the Chelmsford Senior Center, located at 75 Groton Road (Rte 40) in North Chelmsford. To keep everyone safe, guests will be asked to wear a mask while they are not eating.

Table of Plenty Website