Serve Others

There are many ways to LOVE OTHERS at Our Lady of the Lake. By serving those in our community, we LOVE OTHERS where they are at by addressing their daily needs. Click on one of the links below to explore the many Community Outreach opportunities.

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Mercy Teams

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St Vincent de Paul

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Knights of Columbus

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Respect Life

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OLL Outreach Fund

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities

Mercy Teams

Help one another. That is what Jesus teaches us. That is what I do. And I do it with my heart.

- Pope Francis

 

Mercy Teams of Our Lady of the Lake

Parishioners, their families, and friends, reaching out in

Service to Others through

Small Acts of Mercy and Kindness

 

Mercy Teams small acts of mercy have added up to a very BIG act of love and kindness.

Since the start of Covid-19 in March of 2020, through April 2023, you have helped Mercy Teams deliver over 255,000 meals, including sack lunches, hot breakfasts, and family meals to food insecure families.

 

You have also donated thousands of pairs of new socks, gloves and winter clothing which are distributed directly to unsheltered guests you help serve on the streets.

 

Your “Small Acts of Mercy and Kindness” add up to a huge amount of food and love, which are “beautiful gifts” distributed to our vulnerable brothers and sisters. The guests Mercy Teams serves have “fallen through the cracks.”

 

Click here to sign up to receive a weekly Mercy Teams email update and see Mercy Teams in Action.

 

Contact Mercy Teams Volunteer Coordinator, Michael Backus to learn more and find out how you can assist: Michael’s Cell 503 708 9503 or email: mercyteams@ollministry.com

Pledge to donate sack lunches or sandwiches using the links below

Street Ministry to the unsheltered every 4th Saturday morning

Meet in the parish hall at 7:15 am. Help prep a hot breakfast, make sack lunches, and prep and serve a hot breakfast to unsheltered guests on the streets. Contact Michael with questions.

Sock & Coat Donations 

We always need new socks. Please hang onto winter coats, blankets and sweat shirts, until we start collecting again in late July. Donate new pairs of socks--drop in “Sock Boxes” just outside the parish hall.

 

Donate winter coats or blankets in the same area.

Mercy Teams Adopt a Mission

 

Join an existing Adopt a Mission Team, pledging support directly to that team. Click the links below to sign up.

How can you help our Adopt a Mission Teams?

  • Donate sack lunches, or sandwiches, or both, that we will distribute to Adopt a Mission teams.

Sack Lunch and Sandwich Directions

 

To assemble sack lunches without sandwiches, please provide:

Paper lunch sack, apple sauce cup, granola bar, bag of chips, 16 oz. bottle of water, or 8oz Juice Drink pouch or pack, plastic spoon, and napkin.

To make PB&J sandwiches:

PB&J sandwiches – Place Peanut Butter on both slices of bread, then add jelly or jam (keeps bread from getting soggy). Individually wrap each sandwich in sandwich bag, place sandwiches back into the original bread wrapper and seal.

St Vincent de Paul

 The Vocation of the Society’s members is to follow Christ through service to those in need and thus bear witness to His compassionate and liberating love. Members show their commitment through person-to-person contact. Join us in this humbling and rewarding ministry. Canned food donations are always welcome. There are donation barrels located in the church narthex and in the parish hall entryway. Please contact us for more information.


Contact: Jerry Foley at ollsvdp@ollministry.com

Meetings: First Tuesday of the Month | 4:00-5:00 PM | On Zoom

Need Rent, Utility, or Food Box Assistance? Call the Portland Council office hotline at 503-235-8431. 

Volunteer Opportunity

St. Anthony's Community Cafe Sunday Dinner - Every 9 Weeks


Join a team of OLL Parishioners to help prepare and serve a warm dinner at St. Anthony's in Tigard for 60 to 100 individuals, including their families , whose challenges include poverty and homelessness. We serve every nine weeks. 

If you are interested in being a part of the team, please contact Jerry Foley to sign up or learn more about St. Anthony's Community Cafe Sunday Dinners. 

Vehicle Donation - Help a Neighbor in Need

 

Did you know that the Portland Council of St. Vincent DePaul has a car donation program? Do you have an unwanted vehicle taking up space in your driveway? The Council’s newly formed Marketing Committee is ramping up its efforts to promote this charitable tax deductible event for parishioners that will also benefit the Portland Council and your OLL SVdP Conference with the proceeds earmarked to support emergency food, rent and utilities assistance programs. 

 

Read the flyer for more information.

Respect Life Ministry

–cultivating a society in which every human life is welcomed, treasured and loved.

Our Mission Statement

The Respect Life Ministry hopes to promote life and stand up for those who are most vulnerable in the world. We work in collaboration with other parish ministries and outside organizations to evangelize, advocate, pray and promote activities that foster a culture of life here at Our Lady of the Lake. This includes the church’s teaching in the area of abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, capital punishment, human trafficking and embryonic stem cell research. Our outreach also advocates protection for people with disabilities and the protection of individual conscience rights.

Pregnant?

You are not alone. Get connected with the help you need.

 

Pregnancy Services

Precious Children of Portland

Learn about our outreach and vigils.

 

Precious Children of Portland

Post-Abortion Healing

Learn about healing after abortion.

 

 

Post-Abortion Healing

Get Involved

People can get involved in may ways. Listed are some of the activities we participate in throughout the year. The committee meets monthly.

 

Contact Sharon, Respect Life Coordinator, through the Parish Office at 503 636-7687

 

  • 40 Days for Life
  • Natural Family Planning Awareness
  • Respect Life Corner in the OLL weekly bulletin
  • Respect Life Month (October)
  • Sanctity of Human Life Month (January)
  • Public Policy Awareness
  • Roe vs. Wade Memorial Rally /Walk
  • Oregon Right to Life Conference
  • Parish fundraisers & events
  • Young Lives
  • Precious Children of Portland

Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus is a global Catholic fraternal service order. Membership in the Knights of Columbus embodies first and foremost the presence of God and the principles of Christianity. God's presence enriches the bond that exists between Catholic men of the Knights. He is with us at every meeting, every sponsored event, every casual encounter with a Knight on the street, in a grocery store, at Mass. That connection is unspoken, strong, shared. The Knights sponsor and are involved in numerous church and community events. Examples: monthly breakfasts after Mass, crab feeds, assistance at Christmas Mass, moving furniture for shut-ins, and so on. While participation in such activities is encouraged of the members, there are no minimums. You can be as active as befits your comfort zone.

 

Contact: Phil Barr 503-484-3861

Helpful Links and Fr. Theo Videos

Watch Fr. Theo Videos

Oregon Knights of Columbus

Definition of a Practical Catholic

Mass Times for a Traveling Catholic

Outreach Fund

Our Pastoral Council established a Parish Outreach Fund in keeping with the mission of our parish to “Love Others” by helping those in need. Three percent of the Parish’s general collection creates the fund that is used to pay for charitable outreach projects, grants to local charities, and emergency requests for assistance.

The Parish Outreach Fund provides grants to organizations and projects that live out the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, and work for justice, peace and charity. Primarily funded by the parishioner’s Sunday giving, the Outreach Fund supports local, national, and international organizations that share our mission.

General Funding Guidelines

 

Priority is given to requests that reflect the Corporal Works of Mercy (Matthew 25:31-46) and where parishioners are actively involved. Having one or more parishioners as champions for a cause is important.

Application for Funding

 

The application process is simple. The agency is invited to complete an interactive online application. Requests greater than $1000 will need to provide additional information on the application. Our parish Outreach Fund Committee will review every application at its quarterly meetings and either approve, postpone, request more information or reject the grant request. Exceptions to this process will be funds allocated at the discretion of the pastor and when the need arises for creating a parish-wide response to natural disaster or other emergency.

Outreach Fund Application

Contact Ann Geller, Outreach Fund Coordinator, with questions at anngeller58@gmail.com.

Other Ministries Supported by OLL

Catholic Charities

 

With your generous support, Catholic Charities assists the poor and vulnerable Oregonians each year. The goal is to promote self-sufficiency, help people regain their God-given dignity and provide people with the opportunity for a better and fuller life. 

L'Arche Portland

 

L'Arche transforms the lives of people with and without intellectual disabilities by working together to create home, share life, and build community. People with intellectual disabilities form the heart of community and invite others into mutual relationships.Together, we provide and receive compassionate care and friendship and foster a deeper understanding of what it means to be human

Lake Oswego Transitional Shelter

 

The Lake Oswego Transitional Shelter Ministry (LOTSM) is a consortium of six churches in LO which operate 2 apartments for otherwise homeless families. The shelter provides temporary housing while people start a new jobs, secure funds for an apartment of their own.

Saint Andre Bessette

 

St. Andre Bessette is a Roman Catholic parish in the heart of Old Town whose mission is to provide hope and healing to the most marginalized members of society. 
New volunteers are especially welcome, so if you haven’t done this before, consider joining us.

Refugee Resettlement Ministry

 

Our mission is "to give a warm welcome to refugees, God's children by offering guidance, providing assistance, and lending comfort and support throughout their journey toward self-sufficiency in a respectful, dignified, and compassionate manner." If you are interested in volunteering, contact Erika Pena for more information. 

Our Lady Queen of Africa

 

The "Friends" of the Sisters of Our Lady Queen of Africa have a simple, but robust mission: to walk humbly with the Sisters of Our Lady Queen of Africa, in their mission to serve Christ by assisting the most vulnerable with encouragement, prayer and financial support.

 

Contact Kevin and Susan Welch for more information.