“Mercy is the Very Foundation
of the Church’s Life”
                     
 – Pope Francis

At St. Theresa you can live out your Catholic faith by serving others in one or more of these outreach ministries. Note: some of these ministries have been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Early Bird Taco Ministry for the Homeless
Food For Our Neighbors
Social Justice Committee
Seasonal Outreach Projects
Nursing Home Visits
Volunteer Opportunities in Austin
 

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a worldwide organization dedicated to providing short-term assistance for the needy. The St. Theresa chapter members work in pairs visiting families in need and assisting them with prayer, food debit cards or financial help to prevent eviction or the cutoff of utilities or to help with other emergencies. Ministers also direct people to other providers of assistance.  Funds for this ministry come almost entirely from the St. Theresa parish monthly black bag collection.

Time Commitment: Members meet every Wednesday evening for 45 minutes and then provide additional volunteer time of about one hour a week. To volunteer contact Ned Ahearn.

If you are in need of assistance from SVDP,  please see the helpful information on our parish FAQ page.
 

The St. Theresa Early Bird Taco Ministry

The Early Bird Taco Ministry serves the day laborers and homeless who gather at Austin Resource Center (ARCH). Early each Friday morning 50 to 100 men and women receive breakfast tacos, orange juice and vitamins from parishioners. This ministry needs shoppers to purchase food supplies, cooks to make about 100 breakfast tacos midweek in the Family Center, and “early bird” volunteers to meet early each Friday morning to warm-up the midweek tacos, make 100 more tacos and deliver breakfast to the hungry and appreciative folks at ARCH. Volunteer as often as works for your schedule. Contact Teresa Duncan.

 

Nursing Home Visitation

"They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green." -- Psalm 92:14

The nursing home ministry helps Catholics in Assisted Living and nursing facilities stay connected to their faith and the Sacraments. The ministry provides a Communion Service on Fridays at Brookdale NorthWest Hills, and supports a Communion outreach weekly at Brookdale Spicewood Springs Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, and Rehab, as well as a monthly mass on the second Wednesday of each month. Nursing home ministers also lead a Rosary once a month at the Atria retirement home and spend time visiting with residents after the service.

To request a visit of a senior adult parishioners in assisted living or nursing home contact the parish office at 512-451-5121.
 

Food for Our Neighbors

This ministry performs seasonal and Sunday food collections for the hungry in Austin. Drivers are needed to deliver collected food to Caritas.  Contact Tony Christofich to volunteer.. 
 

Pro-Life

This year the Church celebrates the 25th anniversary of the landmark pro-life encyclical Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life). Written by Pope St. John Paul II, this prophetic document passionately reaffirmed the Church’s constant teaching on the value and sacredness of every human life. It remains a foundational text for all our efforts to ensure that the life of every human person is protected and cherished. (Most Reverend Joseph F. Neumann, Chairman USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

The annual Respect Life Program is a year-round, nationwide effort by leaders to help Catholics understand, value, and become engaged with building a culture that cherishes every human life. The U.S. bishops produce materials each year to assist you in these efforts. These materials can be found at www.respectlife.org . 
 

Social Justice Outreach Ministry

The Social Outreach Ministry of St. Theresa Catholic Church seeks to promote the Catholic Social Teachings on building a just society in our parish and community through education, advocacy, and outreach to our less fortunate brothers and sisters. The committee meets the third Tuesday evening of every other month at 7:30 p.m. in Bldg. E, Rm. 102.  

Pope Francis in Laudato Si' calls on the Church and the world to acknowledge the urgency of our environmental challenges and to join him in embarking on a new path. This encyclical is written with both hope and resolve, looking to our common future with candor and humility. The Holy Father's Encyclical on Care of our Common Home. In response to Laudato Si, our parish has formed a Creation Care Team to work with the Faith and Energy Action Team to learn from other congregations in our city, assess waste reduction options in our parish and to educate parishioners through ideas for being better stewards of God’s creation. See more information on the Paris Climate Agreement and the Ignatius Carbon Challenge.
 

Human Trafficking

One important social justice issue is human trafficking. Below is some note about a recent film on the subject.

Blind Eyes Opened Summary, February 2020
by Selma D'mello, parishioner
BLIND EYES OPENED is a first-of-a-kind Christian documentary that dives deep into the sex trafficking industry in the U.S. The film exposes the darkness that fuels demand, highlights survivors' transformations through Christ, engages lawmakers, law enforcement, organizations, ministries and experts across the country committed to ending the atrocities, all while showing Christ as the hope for all involved.
Did you know that Texas is ranked #2 in the nation for the most reported human trafficking cases?

• We need to strengthen the family unit –
  • Insecurity and broken families heighten the risk of our kids becoming prey
  • Pimps hang out at bus stations, looking for prey. Runaway kids to step off the bus with a suitcase, looking lost - and they swoop in.
• Rescue victims –
  • Be vigilant, learn how to spot it and stop it
  • Report suspicious activities, join rescue teams
  • Many perpetrators feel unloved, and often they are abuse victims themselves
• Curb the Demand – educate young men and women, and teach them to be Christ-centered
• Curb the root cause – Pornography
• Don’t let the abortion industry allow perpetrators to hide their crime
• Support child-protective organizations

There are many people out there fighting to protect children. Join them by volunteering or donating to:

• PACT – Partners Against Child Trafficking https://pact.city/
• More Too Life https://moretoolife.org/
• Valiant Hearts https://www.valianthearts.org/
• STAAR – Stop The Abuse And Rescue - http://staarministry.com/home.aspx
• Healing Root https://healingrootministry.com/
• Chosen4Freedom
• Street Grace https://www.streetgrace.org/
• ………. And many more

Look up additional resources –https://blindeyesopened.com
 

Creation Care Ministry

 

All powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the
smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with tenderness all that exists.
Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not
prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe
and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.
- (Laudato Si’, 246) 

 
Respect for life and the dignity of the human person extends also to the rest of creation, which is called to join man in praising God.  (See Psalm 148)

April 22nd is Earth Day. Let us celebrate by caring for creation.

Creation Care Ideas

• Buy less, Use less, Waste less
• No Fast Fashion – trendy clothes that are super-cheap end up in the garbage quickly
• Avoid disposables - reduce landfill trash
• Carry your reusable water bottle – say no to bottled water
• Composting – returns resources back to Mother Earth
• Gardening – learn about native plants, xeriscaping saves water
• Walk, bike more – drive less
• Eat less red meat
• Adjust AC settings (1 degree higher for cooling, 1 degree lower for heating)
• Shorter showers
• Shop at thrift stores – find some treasures, some items discarded in their original seals
• Sort recycling correctly – else we can damage recycling machines
• Research recycling options for cartons, batteries, old tennis shoes, electronics, etc.
• Spend time outside – bonding with nature makes us more caring & protective towards it
• Instill in your children a sense of gratitude, avoiding wastefulness and careless damage
• Educate others – share all the valuable information that you learn

Celebrate Earth Day all year long by watching a variety of great documentaries related to our planet
·         The Condor and the Eagle
·         2040
·         Seaspiracy
·         A Plastic Ocean
·         Before the Flood - 2016
·         Chasing Ice
·         Chasing Coral
·         Climate Change - the facts
·         Cowspiracy – the sustainability secret – 2014
·         The Cove - 2009
·         Our Planet – TV series

Join our Creation Care Team by contacting Selma D’Mello.

 

Other Volunteer Opportunities in the Community

Catholic Charities of Central Texas
Allison Cavazos, Director of Social Services

Foundations Communities of Austin
Donna Williams, Community Outreach Manager

Mary House Catholic Worker of Austin, Inc.
Lynn Goodman-Strauss, Founder and Director

Austin Clubhouse:  Working for Wellness
info@austinclubhouse.org

St. Louise House
Emily Hawarny, Volunteer Coordinator

 
Brookdale Northwest Hills
Rebecca Alvarado now serves as their Activities Director/Life Enrichment Coordinator