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Community Outreach
AIDS Ministry
Holy Spirit parishioners offer regular help with the care of women with AIDS at a home in Virginia Highland. The home is licensed for the care of ten women, and Holy Spirit volunteers provide dinner for the home the first Monday and Tuesday of every month. Those who prepare food and bring it to Holy Spirit may also sign up to deliver it to the home on the first Monday of the month. Additionally, volunteers may prepare an Easter dinner for the residents as well as the neighborhood (approximately 50 people), create personalized gift baskets for the residents or help with the care and support of patients and in the maintenance of the property.
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Blood Drives
Holy Spirit hosts blood drives several times a year –winter, spring, summer, and fall. Anyone who is at least 17 years of age, weighs at least 100 pounds and is in good health may be eligible to donate. All donors must present I.D. Opportunities to donate blood at Holy Spirit are posted in the narthex and published in the bulletin and on the website. Appointments may be made prior to the drive and walk ins are welcome. Volunteers are needed to host the drives, assist donors, and help with scheduling appointments.
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Contact:
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Patty Randall • • 404-257-1959 |
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Buckhead Christian Ministry
Holy Spirit Church supports Buckhead Christian Ministry with volunteers and financial contributions. The mission of BCM is to provide compassionate, emergency financial assistance to individuals and families in the Atlanta area. It places particular emphasis on clients' basic needs like housing and food, but also promotes programs that lead to long-term financial independence. BCM provides opportunities for all members of sponsoring churches and the community to live out the call to Christian service. The following volunteer opportunities are available at BCM: intake and telephone workers; food pantry and thrift store assistants; computer data personnel; and administrative support. Two volunteer orientation sessions are held each month and offer information about service opportunities. There are three events held each year by Holy Spirit to support BCM: food drives in January and June, and the Joyous Toys Drive at Christmas.
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Career Ministry
The Career Ministry is an ecumenical ministry for the under/unemployed welcoming all of God’s children and seeking to help people “make that all-important connection” with their future. Meetings provide both job seekers and prospective employers the opportunity to network, receive support and share career opportunities. Volunteers are needed to serve as greeters, to help review/offer feedback on resumes and to share business knowledge with those seeking a career change. Meets 1st and 3rd Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
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Contact:
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Caroline McCoy-Hansen • • 770-794-6651 |
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Father Joe's Mission Thailand
For over 30 years, Father Joe Maier, a Redemptorist priest, has been ministering to the poorest of the poor in the Bangkok, Thailand, slums of Klong Toey. Through his work he has captured the hearts and support of Holy Spirit parishioners. He touches all the people he meets: troubled kids, drug addicts, those dying from AIDS, and those that society will not recognize. Father Joe has built more than 30 schools, an AIDS hospice, clinics, fire stations and a legal aid center. There are opportunities available for year-round financial support, contributions and continued prayers to keep Father Joe's programs and facilities running.
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Contact:
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Jane Bickers • • 404-252-4513 x213 |
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Hispanic Outreach Program
Holy Spirit Catholic Center (Centro Católico del Espíritu Santo) opened in March 2000 on Northwood Drive to serve our parish area's Hispanic community. As a mission church, the Center offers a Spanish Mass, sacramental services, and religious education for the youth and adults of the Sandy Springs community. As a social services foundation, the Center has an active young adults group, growing Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs, and provides social services to the community. These social services include the following: after school volunteer program, counseling services, seminars in self improvement, English and Spanish languages, computer skills, legal rights and responsibilities and many other topics of importance to the rapidly growing Hispanic community. The Hispanic Outreach Program is one of Holy Spirit's major commitments to our parish community. All volunteers who are willing to help or who have other skills they'd like to share are invited to offer assistance in this important community effort. Both English and Spanish speaking volunteers are welcome.
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Contact:
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Pilar Castañeda • |
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Homeless Ministry
The Homeless Ministry serves homeless men in downtown Atlanta during the winter months (October through March). The men are fed a hot evening meal, given the opportunity to shower and are offered a sack breakfast/lunch as they depart. Holy Spirit provides coverage at the shelter two nights during each of the five operating months. There are volunteer opportunities for parishioners of all ages. Signup takes place in the Narthex where a poster indicates the various volunteer services needed. Volunteers may choose to supply food, transport food, prepare the meal and/or spend the night. The shelter is located at The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Church, Central Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Atlanta.
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Knotted Rosaries for Military
Knotted Rosaries for the Military group meets periodically to make handmade twine rosaries for men and women who serve in our military. These rosaries are blessed by our clergy and sent with our love, prayers and gratitude from the Rosary Makers of Holy Spirit
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Contact:
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Mary Ellen Vollrath • |
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St. Vincent de Paul Society
The mission of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is to "change lives... one at a time" through prayer and works of charity. The St. Vincent de Paul Society, which has operated in North Georgia since 1903, is a national and international organization leading women and men to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person services to those to who are needy and suffering in the tradition of its founder, Frédéric Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul. At Holy Spirit, this is primarily through home visits to needy families.
Holy Spirit's Conference meets for an hour the first and third Wednesdays of each month to grow in spirituality, fellowship and service. Home visit volunteers receive training to assist people in emergency situations. Working in pairs, volunteers make one or two visits monthly equating to a commitment of two hours per month in addition to the meetings. Other volunteer opportunities are hotline-call retrieval and dispatching of home visit volunteers, helping with the monthly "For the Poor" collection at Mass (usually the second Sunday of each month) or, during the Christmas season, getting involved with the Christmas Angel program which provides Christmas gifts for families that would otherwise be without them. All are encouraged to join. Bilingual volunteers and those who have free time during weekdays are especially needed for home visits.
Parishioners who can't join at this time are encouraged to keep the Holy Spirit Conference in your prayers. All donations are greatly appreciated through the monthly collection as well as other gifts, like memorials. In support of the Atlanta area St. Vincent de Paul Society, parishioners can donate clothes in the Red Barn Storage shed located in the parking lot adjacent to the parish office. All clothing should be clean, gently used and placed on hangers or neatly in boxes. Donation tax forms are available in the parish office. Also, donations of vehicles are appreciated by the Council office in Chamblee. Please call (770) 458-2877 to donate a car.
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Contacts:
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Paty Holdmeyer •
Ray Lerer •
Kate Harris • |
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St. Vincent de Paul Society - Food Delivery
Parishioners volunteer to pick up food items which are donated from the Whole Foods on Roswell Road on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and deliver to the Saint Vincent de Paul Society.
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Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministry provides Christian, confidential care for the hospitalized, the homebound, the elderly, the lonely or discouraged, those experiencing illness or disability, those grieving the loss of a loved one, those in job crisis or unemployment, the separated or divorced, single parents, families facing transitions (birth, adoption, children leaving home, caring for parents) and many more. Stephen Ministry is a complete system of training, organizing, and supervising lay persons for this caring ministry in and around the parish. Stephen Ministers are asked to make a two-year commitment to the program that includes 50 hours of training and approximately one hour a week with their “care receivers.” This caring ministry provides a witness to the world of Christian discipleship. Those who wish to speak to a Stephen Minister or those who wish to become Stephen Ministers should call the parish office.
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Contacts:
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Chuck Bolash •
Julie Antinucci • |
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