Volunteer at St. Mary's
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At St. Mary of the Lake, we offer many opportunities to celebrate our faith as a community through events held throughout the year.
Click on the links provided or contact Bette Wolf, our Parish Life Director if you would like to help with any of the following:
St. Mary of the Lake Ushers and Greeters
One comment heard over and over again about St. Mary's is that we are such a welcoming community! One mainstay is our amazing Greeters and Ushers! We are in great need of greeters for all three of our masses, and ushers at our 4:30 PM and 11:00 AM masses. Please reach out to Parish Life to sign up to help and get on the schedule!
Altar Servers
Our Altar Servers play an important role in their ministry! Servers carry the cross, the processional candles, hold the book for the priest celebrant when he is not at the altar, carry the incense and censer, present the bread, wine, and water to the priest during the preparation of the gifts or assist him when he receives the gifts from the people, wash the hands of the priest, assist the priest celebrant and deacon as necessary. Please contact Bette Wolf or Father Zipp to find out how to enroll your student in the ministry!
Liturgical Ministers
Click here to view ways one can volunteer with the liturgy.
Music Ministers
Click here to view the many opportunities for involvement in our music ministry or contact Don Felling, Director of Music.
Our Family of Faith - Family Formation
Are YOU the missing piece to our Faith Formation Puzzle? If you have a love of our Catholic faith, a love of children and a desire to share that faith, we are looking for YOU! There are still openings for this amazing volunteer opportunity to teach and share our faith. We will be exploring an exciting and inclusive curriculum! If you are interested, give us a call. Training provided. Please email Bette in Parish Life for more information or by clicking here: Our Family of Faith
Funeral Luncheon
This committee arranges the luncheons for funerals held at St. Mary's. Volunteers setup, serve and cleanup after the luncheons. If you have time to help with setup, serving and cleanup, this ministry provides much comfort for family members and friends. To sign up to help in the kitchen click here.
Kitchen
The parish kitchen is used heavily and is in constant need of cleaning and straightening. We maintain a list of people who are willing to launder the kitchen towels as well as those who are willing to clean the kitchen. Contact Bette Wolf in the Parish Life Office if you are interested in helping with this ministry.
Maintenance
Parishioners are invited to help with both indoor and outdoor projects at an Annual Spring Work Day, usually held on a Saturday in May. Regular volunteers are welcome throughout the year to help with ongoing projects: dusting the church, maintaining flower gardens in the summer, fall garden cleanup, washing windows, trimming bushes, etc. The parish maintains a list of people who are willing to be called to help with other occasional projects.
Parish Office
The parish office occasionally needs computer assistance or website assistance. Help answer phones and greet walk-in traffic when staff is in monthly staff meeting.
Annual Blood Drive
We will hold at least two joint Blood Drives at St. Mary’s with Oak Knoll Lutheran Church this year. Please watch for the sign up at the weekend liturgies prior to the date. Watch for announcement coming in April 2025.
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Outreach & Social MinistriesNeighbor-to-Neighbor
Neighbor-to-Neighbor is a parish charity/outreach program. It is funded by donations from parishioners through the fourth Sunday envelope or on-line giving through the parish website. Neighbor-to-Neighbor supports local organizations such as Project for Pride in Living, Sharing and Caring Hands, The Bridge for Youth, Hope Community, Wayside Recovery Center and Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis and provides emergency assistance for individuals and families in need. Neighbor-to-Neighbor sponsors regular and emergency projects in the parish throughout the year, including food collections for the local food shelf (see PRISM), collection of Christmas gifts for local organizations (see Christmas Share-A-Gift), and provides funds for the meal St. Mary’s volunteers serve at Sharing & Caring Hands each month (see Sharing & Caring Hands).
Volunteers are instrumental in carrying out the charity/outreach work of Neighbor-to-Neighbor by:
· Donating funds to Neighbor-to-Neighbor
· Donating, sorting and delivering food to PRISM
· Helping with the Christmas Share-A-Gift project and donating gifts
· Helping prepare and serve a meal at Sharing & Caring Hands each month
PRISM (People Responding in Social Ministry)
PRISM is a diversified social service agency serving the cities of Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, Plymouth and Robbinsdale. PRISM’s mission is to provide social services and connections that empower people in our community to build healthy, stable lives. PRISM's vision is to lead in providing innovative and dignified services that foster resilient individuals and a healthier, more sustainable community. PRISM's values are Dignity, Accountability, Collaboration, and Innovation. As a church member of PRISM, St. Mary’s provides one representative who serves on PRISM’s church board. St. Mary’s provides funds, food, Christmas gifts, groceries for their foodshelf and volunteers for PRISM.
Sharing & Caring Hands Volunteers
Sharing and Caring Hands is a day shelter providing a bridge between existing services for those in need. Once a month a meal is prepared in our parish kitchen by parish volunteers. The next morning the food is gathered and transported to Sharing and Caring Hands to be cooked and served for the noon meal. St. Mary of the Lake also provides over 100 cooked turkeys for the Thanksgiving noon meal on an annual basis. For more information about Sharing and Caring Hands please go to www.sharingandcaringhands.org.
A Community Caring for Life
A Community Caring for Life (ACCL) supports the Archdiocesan effort to address the needs of women and families facing a crisis pregnancy. The committee hosts a “baby shower” in October, Respect Life month, in which parishioners can donate new baby items that are divided up and given to three organizations in our community that support women in crisis pregnancies. We also care for children in need by supporting the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery lunch program, “Cook for Kids”, on a monthly basis.