Service & Outreach

Faith without works is dead (James 2:20). Our faith urges us to bring God's message of hope, peace and joy to others, especially those who are going through a trying time.
Our Service & Outreach programs put our faith into action. Are you be willing to reach out to someone in need? We can use your generosity. Do you want to give back in thanksgiving for all the blessings in your life? Your time could bring joy to so many others. Or maybe you are in need of some support yourself? Hopefully, we can help.
This group has a long and proud tradition of service at St. Benedict. Volunteer men and women assist residents of Kipling Acres Seniors Residence from their rooms to the main floor for mass on designated Tuesday mornings. Volunteers accompany residents back to their rooms after mass. Eucharistic ministers bring communion to the residents who are unable to go to mass.
Designated Tuesdays 9:30 am at Kipling Acres.
General Description The Knights of Columbus is the largest Catholic fraternal service organization in the world. There are over 13,000 Councils and more than 1.7 million members worldwide. We have been called the strong right arm of the Church, praised by popes and world leaders for the support of the Church, programs of evangelization and Catholic Education, civic involvement and those in need. We are Catholic men 18 and older who are committed to making the community a better place. The Knights are about enhancing their faith and protecting and nurturing family life. Our order is based on three principles: Charity, Unity and Fraternity. How does one become a Knight? To become a full fledged Knight you need to go through a degree for each one of the principles that outline its meaning and how we use them. An opportunity for admission to the Fourth degree of Patriotism, which is the ceremonial arm of our order, is also available to any Knight that has completed their Third degree. Knight’s Council at St. Benedict Church Focus on Youth: Here at St. Benedict, our Council has grown quickly since 2007 to over 100 members. In light of the patron of our Council, St. John Bosco, much of our focus is on youth. We sponsor the Squires Circle with funding, leadership and physical support in order for young boys to have a place to go to learn to become the leaders of tomorrow and enhance their own faith life. We have at present 4 Counselors that work with the boys and 2 more awaiting their accreditation. This council provides them with funds to carry out their own programs and it supports their own fundraising by providing the cooking for their Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. Confirmation Breakfast: Our St. John Bosco Council also supports the youth of St. Benedict church by providing a pancake breakfast for the boy candidates for Confirmation, their fathers and male sponsors at their annual Boys’ Confirmation Breakfast. Beginning in 2011, we look forward to offering the same support in the way of a pancake breakfast in collaboration with another parish group that sponsors the annual Girls’ Confirmation Breakfast held for the girls candidates for Confirmation, their mothers and women sponsors. At both breakfasts, we present each candidate for Confirmation with a rosary. Outreach: In our efforts to support community outreach, our council assists St. Vincent de Paul with both manpower and financial aid. Our pro-life initiatives include participation in the 40 Days for Life with a commitment of 1 hour of witnessing at a designated location, witnessing on the annual Life Chain Sunday each October and financial support of the bus rental to Ottawa for the March for Life each May. We have supported our troops with the Tim card program, conducted a Rosary Sunday and helped the Squires with their Blue mass. This year, we are sponsoring a seminarian. Contact Person:
Adam Muscat
416-428-9828
The Resettlement Process: How does it work?
Locally, ORAT serves as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder with the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). By way of information sessions and ongoing training, ORAT educates and guides resettlement volunteers from parishes throughout the archdiocese as to the sponsorship process. This includes the application, the settlement plan, and the integration process. Through the stages that precede arrival in Canada, the resettlement volunteer remains in direct contact with the refugees in their country of refuge.
Once a sponsorship application is approved by ORAT and completed by the sponsoring parish resettlement group, ORAT, as the Sponsorship Agreement Holder, submits the resettlement application to Immigration Canada according to the available spots allocated for refugee submissions set annually by Immigration Canada.
Upon arrival at the Toronto airport in Canada, the former refugee, now called ‘newcomer,’ is welcomed by government officials who process their permanent residence status and Social Insurance Number (SIN), enabling them to work immediately. Parish volunteers greet the newcomer at the airport, and members of the parish resettlement committee welcome and accompany them through the various stages of the year-long sponsorship: temporary and permanent housing, furnishing the home with in-kind donations from parishioners (furniture, small appliances, household items, and clothing) enrollment in community language and job training programs, children’s enrollment in school, resumé writing and job hunting, arranging dentist and medical appointments, grocery shopping, and budgeting.
St. Benedict Parish has been actively involved in the resettlement process since 2010. That year, in response to a national initiative spearheaded by the Toronto Archdiocese called “One Parish-One Family” to assist Iraqi refugees most in need, Cardinal Thomas Collins, our archbishop at the time, issued a letter encouraging each parish to sponsor one refugee family. Responding to the call, in August 2010 our parish undertook the sponsorship of our first family from Iraq. St. Benedict Parish has joyfully welcomed several families from a variety of countries and continues with a few sponsorship applications in process.
Cost of Sponsorship
Sponsorship costs vary depending on the size and composition of the family. ORAT offers sponsorship costs based on the national average of financial assistance provided to government-assisted refugees. These figures assist the sponsoring group in estimating the cost involved in sponsoring a refugee family for 12 months.
Contact: ORAT, Office of Refugees, Archdiocese of Toronto: https://www.archtoronto.org/refugee/
The St. Vincent de Paul Society provides spiritual and temporal help for people in the community in crisis situations. This organization also assists families within the parish who are in material need. In collaboration with our local schools, the society organizes and distributes donated food baskets at Christmas time.
Funding for this work comes from the donations of our parishioners to the St. Vincent de Paul boxes and to seasonal appeals for funds.
Contact: St. Vincent de Paul Society 416-743-3830 X3. Leave a message and an SVDP volunteer will return your call within 24 hours.
AA - Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; the fellowship is self-supporting through free-will contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. https://www.aatoronto.org/
Meetings: Thursdays – Year Round 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Contact: 647-206-6499 ---------------------------- Al-Anon/Alateen For over 55 years, Al-Anon (which includes Alateen for younger members) has been offering strength and hope for friends and families of problem drinkers. It is estimated that each alcoholic affects the lives of at least four other people... alcoholism is truly a family disease. No matter what relationship you have with an alcoholic, whether they are still drinking or not, all who have been affected by someone else’s drinking can find solutions that lead to serenity in the Al-Anon/Alateen fellowship. www.al-anon.alateen.on.ca Contact: 416-410-3809
At our annual Celebration of Life Mass, we remember and pray for all those whose mass of Christian burial took place at this parish over the past year. The coordinator and other parish volunteers contact the loved ones of the deceased to participate in this mass. This mass is held on a designated Tuesday evening mass during the Easter season.
As a Salesian parish, St. Benedict’s has a particular sensitivity for the missions. Don Bosco’s concern and apostolic effort for the missions was a driving force in his life. He sent his first Salesian Missionaries to Argentina in 1875. From there, Salesian missions have spread throughout 130 countries on 5 continents, thus keeping alive the “mission dreams of their father and founder. Over the years, St. Benedict Parish has helped to build schools in Haiti and many other spots where our brothers and sisters have known God’s love through our efforts. Two of our parishioners are missionary sisters: Sr. Claudia Stecker, as a Sister of Our Lady of the Missions, has been serving tirelessly in the Philippines since 1997, and Sr. Salvina (nee Marthese) Pace, a Missioary of Charity, is Mistress of Novices in San Francisco, USA. Missionary Possibilities for Lay People You don’t have to be a priest, brother of sister to be a missionary. Have you ever dreamed of living a lay missionary experience in keeping with your Catholic faith? What a wonderful way to spend a year of transition between completing your studies and beginning your career. Wouldn’t it be a courageous way to begin your retirement? Salesian Lay Missioners (SLMs) One branch of our Salesian family is the Salesian Lay Missioners (SLMs). This is a Catholic association of men and women, seeking to answer God’s missionary call in their own lives by dedicating themselves to works of education, evangelization and human development among poor youth. Three St. Benedict parishioners have recently lived powerful SLM experiences. In 2010 Nicole Leblanc served in Kenya and Lionel Alleluia spent a year in a Salesian orphanage and school in Rwanda. In 2011, Monica Marcelli will spend 10 months with the Salesian sisters in Cambodia. SLMs share in the tradition, prayer, work, family spirit, community life and educational method of the Salesians of Don Bosco, while living in community with Salesians and other missioners. SLMs work in various projects to provide an educational experience for young people and are committed to be, above all, Christian witnesses. For more information:
Salesian Sisters (Toronto): VIDES
Contact: Sr. Jeannine Landry 416 744-8805
Salesians Missions ~ Lay Missioners (New York): VIS ??
Contact: Mr. Adam Rudin
For missionary experiences within the USA:
Salesian Domestic Volunteers ??
Salesian Mission Offices Most of us, for many good reasons, won’t be able to go abroad. However, we can still be missionaries from home by sending desperately needed financial support. Resources
USA: Salesian Missions?
This women's group is a remarkalbe 'Go Green' initiative that has been going strong long before it became stylish to care for our planet. These ladies collect remnants of fabric and sew them into beatiful blankets and quilts to support various outreach ministries including the homeless and single mothers. Their creative masterpieces have litterally covered the globe, as the warmth of their blankets has been enjoyed by people in missionary lands across the planet.
A pot of tea and fresh cookies sweeten the deal every time they gather!
Wednesday 9a.m - 12:00 p.m., in church hall
Contact: Louisa Bertollo