Ministries Update

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October 11, 2022

Kona Hospital Volunteer Chaplain Ministry Seeks Helpers

St. Michael’s, St. Benedict’s, and St. John the Baptist have all participated in taking communion to Catholic patients at Kona Community Hospital for many years. The hospital calls it their Hospital Chaplain Program. We are currently in need of several volunteers to visit our Catholic patients and offer them communion and/or prayer once or twice a month. The nice part of this ministry is that you pick the date(s) you are available and go anytime during visiting hours. To volunteer, you must be a Eucharistic Minister of Holy Communion at your parish. Kona Hospital asks that you complete their volunteer paperwork and orientation. Volunteers go at times that are convenient for them, and visits generally require an hour or less of your time. To volunteer, please call Frances Vasquez at 505-328-1727.

Sharing Garden Needs More Helping Hands Three Days a Week

By feeding the hungry, we realize Corporal Works of Mercy. Our Sharing Garden volunteers tend to a large garden of fresh vegetables and fruit. We plant, remove weeds, water, and harvest on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 7 to 9:30am. The harvests are distributed at the St. Michael Food Pantry, Mālama Nā Keiki, and The Homes at Ulu Wini. Please contact Beth through the Parish Office for more information.

Volunteers Needed for Gift Shop Ministry

Volunteers in this ministry create a welcoming environment while assisting the Gift Shop manager with operations. Come join us and volunteer at least once a month before or after the Sunday Mass you attend or during the weekday while the Gift Shop is open. Call the Parish Office if you are interested in meeting new people by helping out at the Gift Shop!

Friendly Place Lunches Ministry on Mondays

Our ministry provides a hot meal every Monday for our unsheltered neighbors here in Kona. Meals are served at the Friendly Place. We prepare a hot entrée, salad, fruit or dessert every Monday for sixty people. We are always looking for more help. Please consider joining this much needed ministry. There are several ways to help! Prepare part of the meal, help to serve the food at the Friendly Place, or make a donation to help with the cost of the weekly meal. For more info, please call Janice at the office.

Coffee & Sweets with Pastor Ministry Tuesdays

Join Fr. Lio for a talk story hour over coffee and sweets on Tuesdays following the 7am Mass in the Grace Parish Center.

Join Neocatechumenal Way on Wednesdays

Come join our newly formed Neocatechumenal Way ministry at their weekly meetings on Wednesdays from 7pm to 8pm in the Grace Parish Center.

Men of Faith Ministry Meets Wednesdays

Is meeting with fellow men of our parish and growing in your faith of interest to you? If yes, we invite you to join us every Wednesday from 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM on the St. Michael’s South Lanai! We will reflect upon the prior Sun-day’s readings and discuss how they can positively impact our lives. Special invitation: The last Wednesday of each month is extra special as we have a potluck dinner in the Grace Parish Center beginning at 5:30 PM. Join us!

Kupuna Ministry Gathers on Wednesdays

The Kupuna Ministry meets Wednesdays from 8:30am to 10:30am in the Grace Parish Center welcoming seniors of all ages. Come at any time and stay as long as you want. We begin with social time, then coffee, snacks, song and group prayer. We pray a special prayer for the return of our family and friends to the Faith with the intercession of Saint Monica. Craft making follows or you can play Mah Jong, beginners welcome, or just come for company and fellowship.

Join Life Care Ministry Thursdays at Life Care Center

Come join our Life Care Ministry on Thursday mornings from 9:45am to 11:00am at Life Care Center. Located in Keauhou, the Life Care Center is a facility for long-term, skilled nursing care and rehab residents. We begin at 10am with Communion Service in the recreation room with the residents who are mobile. Holy Communion is brought to the rooms of those who are unable to come to the recreation room. They are extremely grateful for our visits, bringing Christ to them in the Eucharist, in his Holy Word, with Prayers, song and joy. After the Communion Service we have a fun singalong. This is truly a work of mercy and act of God’s love. Contact the office for an orientation and to answer any questions.

Young Adult Ministry Meets First & Third Thursdays

The Anchor, First Thursdays at the Grace Parish Center

Join this judgment free space to strengthen your faith for the real world. We focus on practical ways to live out our Catholic faith and how to have natural, faith-based conversations. Bring your doubts, grow in confidence!

The Compass, Third Thursdays at Ola Brew (Kona)

Meet us for casual fellowship! Enjoy a story about the inspirational life of a saint, followed by a low key discussion. New to the faith or just curious? All young adults are welcome, so bring a friend! For more information, contact Will at willbwind1@gmail. com or Becky at rebeccaflasz@gmail.com.

Meals That Heal Ministry

Dedicated volunteers prepare and deliver meals to those who are temporarily homebound or ill. This ministry is for those who will need a little extra assistance following surgery, someone who is undergoing medical treatment or someone who has just had a baby, etc. Often family and friends are able to help for a short time but our volunteers help to supplement that assistance by providing meals a few times a week for up to two months.

Our volunteers may bring home cooked meals or bring meals from a restaurant or have a food delivery service bring a meal. Our goal is to help alleviate any extra stress on families during these times. It is a very beautiful way to let our Parish family know that we are thinking of them and praying for them. It is one small thing to show we care.

Contact Cheryl Roderer at caroderer@gmail.com or call the parish office to join as a volunteer or to give us the name of a family who could benefit from this ministry.

Food Pantry Ministry Held Thursdays, Second & Fourth Saturdays

This ministry distributes food at the Immaculate Conception parking lot from 9-9:45 a.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. Each household receives a bundle containing rice, canned vegetables, tuna, spam, pasta, a drink and more. In addition, we distribute fresh produce from the Sharing Garden and Honaunau Market. Our average distribution helps feed about 300 people.

We have seen a dramatic increase of families in need. Please consider making a donation to this much needed ministry. Items most needed are Peanut Butter, Canned Fruits, Canned Vegetables, and Spam. Diaper sizes needed are sizes 5 and 6 and Pull-Ups 4T-5T Boys and Girls. Please place your donations in the baskets at the back of church when you come to Mass. Mahalo for your continued support.

Volunteers also sort and prepackage at 9am on the Thursday morning before each distribution. One to five hours of service per month are requested of volunteers. Please join us!

Diaper Ministry Distributes Second & Fourth Saturday

The Diaper Ministry provides diapers and pull-ups at our Food Pantry distribution on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. Throughout the year, we have helped approximately 50-80 children at each distribution. We also provide supplies to local agencies who are resources to families in need. Diaper sizes needed are sizes 5 and 6 and Pull-Ups 4T-5T Boys and Girls. Please place your donations in the baskets at the back of church when you come to Mass. Mahalo for your donations and your continued support for this much needed ministry.

Please Help Our Media Ministry by Sharing Photos of Parish Events

Our Media Ministry keeps very busy creating pieces for Parish programs, booklets, posters, flyers, and electronic displays. They also continuously update our website as well as post on our social media platforms and they can always use photos. If you have any photos of our Parish events that you can share, please email to smkonamedia@rcchawaii.org.

Evangelization on the Beach & Kailua Ministry

Come join us in proclaiming and living the joyous and timeless truths of our faith. Jesus Christ is the Eucharist, who has conquered sin and bodily death.

We are loved into existence by an all loving and merciful creator God. We have immortal souls, there is scienti-fic evidence of the Resurrection, and our true home is in heaven. We have a personal encounter Jesus Christ; become more like Christ every time we celebrate Mass and consume the Eucharist. We have a foretaste of heaven, as heaven celebrates with time every time we participate in the Mass. Jesus Christ became the Eucharist to be the “medicine of immortality” and Jesus the answer to the despair of our modern age.

This ministry is dedicated to the re-evangelization of Catholics and evangelization of non-Catholics. We will proclaim the good news that Jesus is “The way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6).

We will have a presence at the monthly Kōkua Kailua Village Stroll and staff evangelists at St. Peter’s Church in Kahalu’u. We will proclaim the truth with public discussions in schools, churches, and other public spaces throughout Hawaii island. We welcome all to join, bringing hope to our youth, families, and our communities.

As we all learn the truth together, we can be witnesses for a full joyful Catholic life and positively impact the lives of all our neighbors and ohana.

For more information, email Dr. Scott French at sfrench@ healthlylifejourney.com or scott@magiscenter.com.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the Hospitalized

Please prayerfully consider joining this ministry that takes Holy Communion to patients at the Kona Community Hospital. As Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC), you’ll take our LORD to Catholic patients at the hospital once or twice a month. Most visits are less than one hour total. You can choose the day(s) and number of times per month you visit patients. Hospital volunteers are bound by the same requirements as those who give Holy Communion at Mass. Masks are not required and you do not visit patients with COVID. Specific training is provided by St. Michael’s and the hospital. To join this ministry, contact Frances Vasquez at 505.328.1727 or leave a message at the office.

Malama Na Keiki

The Malama Na Keiki (Backpack Program) suspended the program with Holualoa School at the end of the school year due to logistical challenges with school being closed for the summer. We referred our families to the Food Pantry for assistance during the break. We will resume in the fall for the school year. The program in June contributed healthy snacks for 130 keiki attending the Aloha Map Keiki Summer program, and in July we will do the same for a Football Day Camp for 150 keiki.