A parish in the Archdiocese
of St. Boniface
Winnipeg
“This committee has a responsibility distinct from those of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) and functions autonomously from it.” (Guidelines from Diocese) A representative sits on the Parish Pastoral Committee, (PPC).
This committee is made up of a minimum of five parish members.
Responsibilities:
The Catholic Women’s League of Canada is a national organization rooted in gospel values calling its members to holiness through service to the people of God.
The St. Emile CWL is actively seeking new members. Meetings begin with the League prayer followed by a spiritual reflection given by Fr. Sembrano. Members are involved in the parish as Eucharistic ministers and readers, volunteer in the parish office, work at the parish supper, and provide a “words of wisdom” message for the Sunday bulletin every week. The St. Emile Council is also sponsoring a family in India and provides donations to a number of organizations such as Cancer Care, Kee-Pas Missions, Meals on Wheels, Jocelyn House , Life’s Vision, and Alpha House. Contact Gladys Talaga at (204) 256-8466 for more information.
Contact Gladys Talaga at lettuce95@hotmail.com.
The Faith and Spiritual Growth Ministry is engaged in providing opportunities for faith and spiritual growth in the parish. This ministry seeks, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to reach out to parishioners, wherever they are in their spiritual journey, to offer varied forms of informative and enriching opportunities to gather where they may encounter Christ and share His love with others.
Members of this ministry venture into opportunities of growth and of challenge, being strengthened alongside their brothers and sisters. They are committed to frequent prayer for St. Emile and all its needs. They practice ‘listening’ prayer so that they may learn to discern their path.
Past initiatives have included:
New members are always welcome! In addition, the Faith and Spiritual Growth Ministry is always seeking suggestions from parishioners for future projects. Contact Bonnie at lynn_rc@hotmail.com to get involved.
The St. Emile food bank provides service from the parish centre and operates in association with Winnipeg Harvest. Ten to twelve volunteers provide the service and approximately 60 to 85 families are served. Food items are provided by Winnipeg Harvest and donations from parishioners. Additional food supplies are purchased with donated monies.
The goals of the hospitality ministry are:
The hospitality committee hosts a coffee and fellowship event once a month after the 9 a.m. Mass. Volunteers are needed not only to host the fellowship events, but also to bake and shop for provisions.
To join the hospitality ministry, contact Christy at christynnadi@outlook.com.
The Knights of Columbus are Catholic men who are committed to making our community a better place while supporting our parish family in many different ways--volunteering their time, supporting the Catholic Church and its causes, protecting and enhancing their family lives--and all the while, deepening their own faith.
Contact Don Petsche, Grand Knight, at donannp@mymts.net.
Members meet every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in the parish centre. Members visit the sick in homes, hospitals, and nursing and seniors’ homes, and also distribute religious articles and provide pastoral and communion services there. In addition to assisting in cleaning in the church and chapel, members hold Holy two hours every year on February 28 in the chapel and deliver the pilgrim statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to homes in our community.
The Liturgical Hosting Ministry is a group of parishioners who:
at the three week-end Masses as well as Ash Wednesday, Easter, and Christmas Masses. This ministry is part of the Liturgy Ministry and both work closely together. Hosts can serve individually or serve as a couple or a family.
To join this ministry, contact Nancy and Vic, Liturgical Hosting Co-chairs.
Liturgical ministry strives to strengthen, enrich, and nurture a positive culture among ministers serving as lectors and/or eucharistic ministers in order to enhance the experience of the people of God as they come together to pray, to reflect, to learn, and celebrate. Training sessions are offered twice per year.
If you are interested in serving as a lector or communion minister, contact Zorina Chang by e-mail at zpm_chang@yahoo.com.
The Maintenance Committee is part of the Finance/Administration Committee. It is responsible for taking care of the facilities, doing necessary repairs, coordinating volunteer helpers, having back up plans in place, and preparing for the future.
Did you ever wonder who does the upkeep and maintenance of our church facilities? Who tends to the flowers and the yard? Who sees to it that our church is clean and organized for us to attend? Who tends to all the upkeep details of St. Emile Parish, our home?
For the last five years, volunteers have donated their time with the upkeep and necessary renovations of our church, our parish centre, and the adjoining four-plex apartment building. Major renovations have included replacing the boiler in the church; replacing shingles on the church, the parish centre and the rectory; updating all windows and all bathrooms in the four-plex apartment building; updating the kitchen in the parish centre; repainting the chapel and the church; upkeep of sewer lines; updating electrical breakers; and more.
At the present time:
Have you an hour or two now and then to help? Please consider becoming a volunteer with our St. Emile Parish Maintenance Team. For more information, please call Vic St. Hilaire ( 204- 233-2883) or Gilbert Dupuis (204-479-2562).
This ministry is comprised of a group of parishioners who come together to share their musical talent and time to ensure the sequence of the Masses flows seamlessly. All elements of the Mass including the music form a complete and organic harmony, clearly expressive of the unity of the body of Christ, the Church. The functionality and beauty of the Mass and all the music foster devotion and remind us of the holiness of the mysteries celebrated. The music ministry needs singers, musicians, and PowerPoint authors and operators.
Contact Meycee at meycee@hotmail.com.
The St. Emile Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is a group of parishioners who serve as a consultative body to assist and advise the pastor. It is the main body for lay leadership in the pastoral life of our parish and aims to engage and enable the whole parish community for fuller participation in the mission of the parish.
This ministry is based on identifying and meeting the needs of the sick, shut-in, and lonely people of our parish by providing visits, prayer and Holy Communion. Our goal is to share our faith by action and love and to bring a little extra joy into their lives.
Volunteers visit and take Holy Communion to the homes of parishioners who are unable to attend Mass through age or illness. They always make their visits in pairs. Contact Geraldine at duffy047@mymts.net to get involved.
This ministry is in two parts:
1. Family Faith Ministry: The purpose of this ministry is to offer religious education to children who do not receive this outside the home.
The primary objective is to provide basic religious instruction to students while making them comfortable with asking questions about their faith.
The secondary objective is to prepare the parents to answer their children’s questions comfortably on the subject of religion or, if they do not know the answer, to be comfortable asking for assistance.
The program presently being followed is the Grade 4 level of the “Christ Our Life” text. This program focuses on the family as the prime source of religious instruction for children by providing sessions that include both parents and children. Parents are encouraged to ask questions pertaining to any subject of which they are unsure.
2. Sacramental Preparation: The purpose of this ministry is to provide instruction to children and their parents pertaining to the sacraments that the children will be receiving.
Sessions are provided to prepare the children to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation, Communion and Confirmation. These sessions provide both instruction as to each sacrament and preparation for the actual ceremony.
Couples for Christ, a Catholic lay movement intended for personal renewal and strengthening of Christian family life, is delivering the children's catechism programme and is willing to train parish members to be catechists. Lilibeth Cruz is the liaison and may be contacted at lilibethscruz@yahoo.com.
For more information, please call Fr. Gerry Sembrano at 204-253-4176 or pastorstemile@shawliink.ca.
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is a process developed by the Catholic Church for prospective converts to Catholicism who are above the age of infant baptism. Candidates are gradually introduced to aspects of Catholic beliefs and practices. The basic process applies to adults and older children.
The RCIA ministry has just been established as part of the ministries of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) and the team is currently holding RCIA sessions in our parish. This ministry has yet to make an action plan and is in the process of learning more about the RCIA program and how we can move ahead with it in our parish.
For more information, contact Fr. Gerry Sembrano.
The Sacristy Ministry makes liturgical preparations for all masses: prepares the linens, sets up and cleans up after masses, prepares the schedules for volunteers for the weekday masses in the chapel, and assists at funeral services and baptisms.
Do you have a bit of time to offer? Does this ministry interest you? Your help can be as simple as offering to wash the linens or water the plants! Be as involved as you wish! Please contact Tina Igbehinadara-Eruja at gustekp208@gmail.com.
The Youth Ministry is committed to forming intentional disciples of Christ through evangelization, local community efforts/outreach, and through fellowship and faith-sharing. The Youth Ministry aims to provide a place for fellowship, guidance and faith formation for the young people of our parish--a place where each one can feel that they belong and are welcome, where each person has a place to discover and use their individual gifts, learning to use them in the context of the church, for the greater good and the glory of God.
Contact Sylvester Oyamienlen at michsylver@yahoo.com