Homebound Meals at Saint Christina Parish

Outreach - Homebound Meals

Homebound Meals
It’s Time to Talk Turkey

Thanksgiving Day dinner for our homebound parishioners is a longstanding tradition here at St. Christina’s. If you wish to volunteer to help prepare, pack, and/or deliver this meal, here are the details.

As we did last year, all the turkey breasts will be prepared “in-house.” The traditional feast will also include a pumpkin dessert.

However, there are still plenty of volunteers needed to slice, chop, peel, and pack, as well as help with cleanup and delivery. The details are listed below:

Volunteers are needed on Wednesday, November 27 between 8 am and 10:30 am. If you are interested in helping, please call Sister Ann Vincent at 773-445-6779 to arrange a time.
On Thursday, November 28, volunteers will also be needed to help pack and deliver the meals. We will begin at 8 am, but please let Sr. Ann know if you are planning on coming.
As always, we will need water splashers to help with cleanup and drivers to help deliver this culinary masterpiece.
Meals will be ready for pickup between 9:45 am and 10 am.

If you want to help but your schedule won’t allow you to come either day, you can still contribute. You can consider making a monetary donation to help cover the cost of the meal. You can drop the contribution in the collection basket; just clearly label the envelope “Homebound Meals.” Thank you in advance.

God bless you all as we prepare for this holiday of thankfulness.

-----------------------------------------------------------

November Homebound Meals
Festival Italiano St. Christina Style

Spaghetti with homemade meatballs and a delicious sauce was the entree for November’s Homebound Meal. Homemade Italian vegetable soup with pasta shells accompanied the meal.

And of course, what is an Italian meal without garlic bread? The aromas of this delectable meal filled the school hall.

Dessert? Of course. To keep true to the Italian theme, the dessert was freshly prepared cannoli cake. Yum Yum.

As always, thanks to everyone who showed up to help on both days. The Girl Scouts and their leaders were a huge help, as were the other youth who came to lend a hand. The Girl Scouts also made beautiful cards for each meal recipient, providing an added touch.

A big thank you also goes out to our drivers. This wonderful meal would not reach our homebound parishioners without them.

Our next, and last, meal of the year will be the Thanksgiving Day meal. See the information above for details explaining how you can help.

May God bless you as we come to the close of the year.

The Homebound Meal Ministry

What We Do - The focus of this program is to provide a delicious, lovingly prepared meal for those in the Saint Christina Family who are not able to easily leave their home environment to shop or dine out.

We try to prepare meals that are “home cooking”, and do not taste or look mass produced. We hope that the meals are enjoyed by everyone in that home, and that those who may be visiting or caring for the person(s) get a little break.

A challenge for this ministry is trying to keep costs down while producing a high quality and nutritious meal for a large number of parishioners in need.

WORK FORCE - You don’t have to be a chef or even a fan of the Food Network to participate in this valuable ministry. Home Bound Meals needs many hands to serve a number of different roles. We utilize volunteers to: shop for groceries; slice, dice, and peel; cook and bake; serve and package meals; deliver; and clean-up. Volunteers from ages 9-90 work together to prepare each meal. Home Bound Meals is a great way for youth groups to earn service hours.

Home Bound Meals prepares and sends meals nine Sundays a year and on Thanksgiving Day. Groceries are purchased the week before the meal and volunteers can work on Saturday to prep the meals or on Sunday mornings to package, send, and deliver.

Sr. Anne Vincent is the pastoral care minister of the parish. She contacts and visits the members of our parish community who need help with many things. She and her loyal volunteers will contact all the persons that have a regular or temporary need, and verify that the person(s) will be at home to receive the meal.

Often, delivery volunteers bring meals to the same people several months in succession, and build a friendly rapport. The number of people who make this program work for each single delivery is very large; however, it always works.

OUR MOST ENJOYED MENUS

Grilled bratwurst and onions, sauerkraut, boiled potatoes and rye bread (Oktoberfest).
Corned beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread (St. Paddy’s day).
Roast pork with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, applesauce, and dinner roll.
Home style meatloaf with buttered noodles, fresh corn, and rolls.
Oven baked chicken with scalloped potatoes, and green beans.
Fresh stuffed peppers with mashed potatoes.
Thanksgiving dinner with ALL the trimmings!

COME JOIN US - If you would like to contribute or help in some way contact Saint Christina Parish Rectory at 773-779-7181 and let them know you want to get involved with Home Bound Meals.