St. Paul Parish Catholic Church

Rose Roni

Nina de Jesus - 2010-05-24

Answering the call to volunteer . . . and calling out to younger volunteers

Rose Roni has been a parishioner of St. Paul for 43 years, and after raising her family, she started volunteering and answering the calls for help at church.

This began ten years ago when Roger Ford, who used to do all the decorations of the church for many years, had put out a call for help in decorating. Rose answered that call. She had gone to floristry school before, and by volunteering in decorating she knew she would be able to apply her skills. And indeed, we have witnessed the beauty of her decorating talents, every church season, especially Christmas and Easter! In the last four years, another call for help in the Sacristan Ministry was put out by Jackie Finkel, and Rose again answered the call to volunteer. She now helps do the preparations for before and after the Sunday 8:30am mass and for other liturgies in the church season.

When I asked her what she gets out of volunteering she says, "I feel that I'm doing it for God. I feel I'm contributing what I can."

I asked Rose if she still needed help in decorating the church, she says,

"Many hands are always needed. Often [new volunteers] feel like they're stepping on your toes. That's not the way it is at all. We welcome help and we've gotten some new people to come in… New hands are always welcome. We're getting older and older here. We need new blood and I saw , like at the luau, we have some new younger people coming in and they're enthusiastic…we have to pass it on."

If you are interested in helping out with the church decorating, especially for Christmas and Easter for doing ladder work, you can call Rose at 206-722-4040. To volunteer as Sacristan, call Bridget Lunning at 206-725-2050. Sacristan work is easy to learn but it requires some training.

Vivian Martin

Nina de Jesus - 2010-05-18

Passing on the faith…

In light of the coming Solemnity of the Pentecost, when the disciples of Jesus went out to share and proclaim their faith to all, Vivian Martin's ministry as coordinator and teacher of RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) at St. Paul Parish fits this occasion perfectly.

For the past 6 years (maybe more), Vivian has taken on the role as catechist, sharing and proclaiming her faith with others. For the non-catholics who come to our parish looking for a spiritual home, Vivian Martin becomes their valuable guide and mentor through all the steps of Christian initiation.

What makes her qualified to teach RCIA? She herself has gone through the process of conversion into the Catholic faith during her twenties. She knows what it feels like to be lost with no spiritual faith or church, and most importantly she knows the feeling of finally finding her spiritual home in the Catholic faith.

So what does she tell everybody when they come to take the RCIA classes? Here I quote her directly from our interview.

"You have to change your mindset. Your faith is the best of who you are. So if you believe, that the best of who you are is your faith, then you're going to share it with all the people that you love. Share it with those you don't like, either. That might help them, but in the meantime, you're trying to save as many of your friends as you can. How would you like it if you got to heaven, then you thought and reflected that if I had just told so and so about God they'd be here instead of there, that would weigh heavy on your heart because you didn't say one or two words about your faith. All it takes is to say come with me to church. What can one do to help pass on the faith? Ask people if they want to be Catholic."

If you know someone wishing to be Catholic, have them contact the Parish Office at 206-725-2050 or call Vivian directly during work hours at 206-233-9154 (W). She can guide that person through all the steps of Christian initiation into the Catholic Church.

If Catholic adults wish to take catechism classes in order to deepen their faith, they are welcome to join in any or all of the RCIA classes that are offered from September through May.

" Most people think RCIA is for people who are not Catholics, but it's also for people who [are Catholics but] don't know their faith. I would highly recommend that they come. RCIA is the church's highest calling, evangelization. This is catechism for adults, the church's way of evangelizing to the adults.

Thanks, Vivian, for all you do at St. Paul Parish!

Visit our RCIA Page to learn more about the program.