Church of the Blessed Sacrament
Parish Council 2007 Annual Report
Submitted by Dee Slattery, President
2.10.2008  

The Blessed Sacrament Parish Council is comprised of two trustees and nine council members that meet on a monthly basis to review and assist our Pastor in the administration of the Parish by recommending and suggesting courses of action pertaining to the social, educational, and spiritual welfare of the Parish and its parishioners. The Council reviews the work and progress of the various ministries and volunteer committees on a monthly basis. This past year has been incredibly active – here’s a recap of what’s been going on.

1. Food For Families diligently collects and packs substantial food for numerous families on a monthly basis, and coordinates Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives for 30 families in our parish. This year marked 11 years of Food For Families service.

2. Senior Outreach promotes the welfare and health of our senior population through seasonal health fairs, blood drives, monthly mailings, weekly Communion visits to homebound parishioners, a parish nurse and bi-annual services of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

3. Bereavement Group and Perinatal counseling has helped numerous people. Of note, we are the only Catholic Church in Manhattan to provide bereavement counseling on a free and open ended basis for over ten years.

4. The Soup Kitchen will commence its 26th consecutive year of providing nutritious meals on Sunday afternoons to those in need. Over 3,000 brown bag lunches were served during the past year. Sixty parish volunteers help with this important initiative.

5. We operate a food pantry in conjunction with the NYC Human Resource Association, this past year we distributed groceries and food essentials to 2600 people providing 25,000 pounds of food.

6. Our Shelter the Blessed Sacrament Residence for men with HIV/AIDS is an experience of daily faith, hope and charity. This year is our 18th year that we have been able to provide a place to live, provide meals and comfort for up to ten men on any given day. We are pleased to have several success stories from men who have benefited from our counseling and support.

7. Religious Education and RCIA RCIA focuses on the religious education and spiritual formation of children and adults including: prayer, scripture, doctrine, and community building. The past year over 120 Students were enrolled in our programs led by 14 Catechists.

8. Liturgy Committee assists the pastor in planning our liturgies; they recruit and train lectors, Eucharistic ministers, altar servers, choir members and the Ministry for the Homebound.

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