4 Riverside Ave
Riverside, CT 06878
USA
On Sunday, October 7, 2018, Parish Partners–Ministry of Hope, St. Catherine of Siena Parish (Riverside, CT) has planned a celebration of the Eucharist welcoming, accompanying and accommodating persons of all ages with disabilities and special needs. Parish Partners are fellow parishioners seeking to help meet the needs of others. Relying on our Catholic faith and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we strive to support the health and wellness of spirit, mind and body through service, worship, prayer and education. In our four years of ministering as Parish Partners, we have gained a profound awareness that the very people Pope Francis has been asking us to seek and see–people in need, people on the margins, individuals who are in plain sight but feel isolated and uninvited, and those who are truly disconnected and have been left alone–are right beside us.
We have encountered many people with disabilities and specials needs, young and old, through our ministry. We have witnessed the love, care and devotion of their family and friends. This has made us better companions and ministers. These encounters have also motivated us to think how we can, as a parish, open the doors wider, provide greater accessibility for people with disabilities. We want to ask our brothers and sisters with disabilities and their families how we can provide the fullest sense of belonging and inclusiveness and the best sacramental experience possible.
We want to start by gathering all of us around the table of the Lord, where we are all welcome just as we are and where we can truly celebrate God’s gift of each other. This special celebration of the Eucharist is a way for us as a parish to affirm and “to say loudly and with deep conviction that we want to create with you a place of belonging because what turns out to be good and nurturing for the person with the disability is also good for those living and caring for that same person—in community, a shared enterprise, a body of healing.” Jean Vanier, L’Arche Founder
With great joy, we invite anyone who IS, or CARES FOR, or CARES ABOUT a person with disabilities or special needs to attend the Mass at noon and the Lunch that follows on October 7th. We have great hope that the Spirit will kindle in all who attend the desire to foster loving relationships and meaningful partnerships with people with disabilities in our shared faith journeys, in all aspects of parish life.