This year, St. Francis Xavier Parish celebrates 155 years of sharing the joy of the Gospel as a vibrant faith community here in Medina. We’ve seen our parish grow from a fledgling worship site visited by priests riding the circuit to what has become the largest Catholic parish in Medina County.

Now we’d like to give back to our community as we fan out throughout the county to perform acts of service to our neighbors. On Saturday, May 23, we’ll be working at area nursing homes, Cups Café, Birthcare and Camp Paradise. We’ll visit our homebound parishioners, wipe down toys at the Medina County Children’s Home and pull weeds at the Medina Creative Housing homes for semi-independent adults.

The type of work will vary from site to site. Activities will include painting, cleaning, sorting, gardening, washing walls or windows, or entertaining nursing home residents. We hope that you’ll sign up as a family or ministry! (Children under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or an adult designated by a parent.) Encourage your friends and your children’s friends to take part, and the impact will be even greater.

We’ll need lots of prayer support back at “home base” as well, so if you aren’t up to working at a site, consider joining a prayer team at church or your home. Some work will be done right at our parish “home.”

Your volunteer shift may begin as early as 9 a.m. and last anywhere from a couple of hours to a little more, depending on the project you sign up for. We’ll all quit by 4 p.m. so we can return to St. Francis Xavier Church for 5 p.m. Mass – yes, maybe still grubby from our work – so we can celebrate the Eucharist together as a community.

Then, we ask that you stay for dinner so we can swap stories about the good work done and hearts touched that day. We know this camaraderie is good for our souls.

Want to donate to the cause? Work gloves, shovels and cleaning supplies will be needed, in addition to water bottles for volunteers. We’d especially like to have T-shirts for everyone who participates.

Sign up to participate May 2 & 3 on “Sign-Up Sunday” in the Church Basement.  Click here to access our online sign-up form! It’s never too late to get involved, but sign up by May 7 to ensure we have a shirt available for you in your size.

Won’t you join us? Let’s take our faith out into the world and give thanks for God’s blessings on our 155 years by sharing our gifts with the community.

A team of parishioners is planning the Parish Day of Service, but we need YOU to make this happen! Have questions? Contact Jennifer Webb at 330-764-8946 or jwebb@stfrancisxavier.info.