Experts made the Titanic, amateurs made the ark
What are your talents? Painting? Counseling? Maybe you’ve never met a car problem you can’t repair or you’re an amazing chef. Perhaps you just find opportunities to help people wherever you go.
Whatever your talent or skill, guess what? God’s behind it! But He didn’t bless any of us with a talent or skill simply so we could look awesome or earn lots of cash. God wants us to steward those gifts for Him! Maybe you thought stewardship was just for your money. Well, yes, that’s a part of it. But it’s so much bigger than that. Stewardship is about everything in our lives—and that includes our talents.
If we want to please God—if we want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when we meet Him in heaven—then we must faithfully use our talents the way He wants us to. Colossians 3:23–24 (ESV) tells us that everything we do should be for Christ: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
If you are older than 18, Saint Columba Parish has many opportunities for you to help build a community that will benefit both our Parish and our regional communities. Take a look at the list below and see where your talents lead you. Get in touch with the organization’s contact person and help serve the Lord Christ through your efforts.
Click on each of the following for descriptions, meeting times and dates, and contact’s photo and information:
Visits: 302
Angels for Life
Angels for Life was born in 1995 when a group of St. Columba Parishioners convened to discuss how we could bring awareness and education to our Parish on the sacredness of all human life.
We have had several big projects over the years and have our regular yearly events: the Pro-Life Fair Booth, Life-Chain, March for Life, the Renaissance Booth, the Mother’s’ Day Carnation Sale, and participation in the fundraisers for Your Loving Choices (our local Crisis Pregnancy Center).
We also educate through bulletin articles and a bulletin board in the cafeteria (which will also be used for other Parish service groups). We have an ‘Angels’ Action Alert’ email list to inform of upcoming legislation dealing with protection for the lives of all from the preborn child to the infirmed elderly.
Our hope and goal
Contact
Rhonda Dougherty
570.784.7616
There will be an Angels for Life meeting on Monday, January 16, at 7:00 p.m. in the Kolbe room. Come to get important information and have great conversation! For more information on our ministry, contact Rhonda 570-441-3732
Visits: 36
Cursillo
To explain Cursillo to someone who has not experienced Cursillo is, at best, difficult. It’s not because Cursillo is a secret, but because it is a living experience that one must experience firsthand. No one can fully explain how God touches a person. Christ, through the Cursillo and through His grace, touches the person who is open to a personal relationship with Him in a special way.
The Cursillo can help the person in developing a deeper understanding of what it means to be fully Catholic by being fully Christian in order to exercise their mission as baptized individuals.
The world [in the mid 20th Century] was in chaos because baptized men were not aware of the potential that the Grace of God gives them to be and live as Christians. Cursillo put its emphasis on being Christian, not on doing Christian things; it opted for an apostolic movement based on the associated strength of friendship.
Contact
Call the Parish Office for more information
570-784-0801
Visits: 18
Eucharistic Adoration
The Adoration chapel at the Basilica of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Danville, PA is open on Wednesdays at 7 am through Thursday at 8 pm! Public hours will be 7 am – 8 pm. The outside doors have been upgraded with a keypad lock. They will be automatically locked between 8 pm and 7 am. The entry code will be provided to scheduled, evening and overnight adorers. The chapel will be routinely cleaned and sanitized. In order to facilitate cleaning, if you take an item into the chapel, please remove it when you leave. If you are interested in adoring and haven’t signed up for an hour, contact Kathy at 570-259-0725 or Lisa at 570-204-2501 or go to our website. As additional adorers commit, we will reassess expanding the days the chapel is open.
THE PERPETUAL ADORATION CHAPEL at St. Cyril’s in Danville is in need of an Adorer at on Thursdays from 2 -3 pm each week. Please contact Judy Dobson at 570-594-7175 for questions or to take this hour, or share it with another person. We must have two people at all Adoration Hours.
For personal safety, the chapel closes during inclement winter weather.
Contact
Alise Seibert
570.204.2501
Visits: 144
Finance Council
Finance Council is required by canon law to advise the pastor on fiscal matters. No major expenditures may be made without the Finance Council’s approval. Membership is by invitation; currently, our council is comprised of 9 men and women.
Contact
William Padner
570.854.1067
Visits: 18
Funeral Luncheons
Funeral Luncheon setup begins immediately following the 7:30 am Mass prior to a participating funeral program. The setup consists of arranging cafeteria tables and chairs, covering the tables and setting up service for the number of anticipated attendees. Setup also involves preparing other tables for beverage and food service.
Serving begins as soon as families return from internment in a local cemetery or immediately following the service. This time consists of moving food to the serving tables and monitoring family needs.
Clean up in the cafeteria and kitchen follows. This is truly a blessed volunteer service that is suitable for adult Parishioners of all ages.
Contact
Cindy Samuels
570.356.7980
570.394.4291
Visits: 64
Knights of Columbus
From the moment of our founding in 1882, charity and unity have been the foremost principles of the Knights of Columbus.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Blessed Fr. McGivney started the Knights of Columbus in 1882, to serve families who had lost fathers and were in financial need. Your Knights of Columbus Council #2290 has been serving St Columba for over 100 years! We have several active projects in our community:1) Procuring an Ultrasound machine for Your Loving Choices Pregnancy Center 2) Aid & Support After Pregnancy (A.S.A.P national program) 3) Volunteers for YLC Pregnancy Center 4) The Fatherhood Life Disciples Mission to aid boys and men without fathers 5) EOS therapy financial support 6) Coats for Kids.
Over the next several months you will be hearing more about these and other activities. Membership in the Knights of Columbus & involvement with our missions is an opportunity for men to provide positive Catholic male influences in our society and families. If you are interested in these projects or joining the Knights of Columbus, contact our Grand Knight Dr. Robert Marande (right).
Our charitable activities encompass an almost infinite variety of local, national, and international projects. Our own unique charities include Coats for Kids, support of local veterans groups, Catholic Schools, and men and women in the religious life. We also partner with international charities including Special Olympics, the Global Wheelchair Mission, and Habitat for Humanity.
Through our Building the Domestic Church initiative, Knights and their families have greater opportunities to participate in a variety of activities that deepen their faith, promote the New Evangelization, and strengthen our Parishes.
“We are answering Pope Francis’ call to go to the peripheries,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said. “We can reach halfway around the globe to help those in need and we can reach to our neighbor next door. We do that every day. That makes us witnesses to the faith.”
Visits: 127
Liturgy Committee
The Mission of the Liturgy Committee is “To deepen the full, conscious and active participation of Saint Columba’s community in celebrating our communal, liturgical worship.”
We meet bi-monthly to discuss and plan Liturgies and troubleshoot any issues pertaining to the Liturgical ministries, including Altar servers, Lectors, Music Ministers, Greeters, Ushers, Environment helpers, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communions, and the Children’s Liturgy team. The leaders of these ministries are members of the Liturgy Committee.
Contact
Catherine Chayko
Director of Music Ministry
570 784-0801 Ext. 5
Visits: 7
Marriage Mentor Program
Our goal is to prepare engaged couples spiritually for marriage in the church. We are affiliated with FOCCUS, a marriage preparation program used in our Diocese.
Program members meet directly with couples for the betterment of marriage as a sacrament. Members need a willingness to share and guide couples as part of their preparation for this sacrament.
This ministry has been active since 1999.
Contact
Karen Konkolics
570.441.3459
Visits: 7
Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels is a service ministry with a goal to bring food and a smile to the elderly in our area who may be homebound. Every 9 weeks, we deliver for the Red Cross. We are responsible for two routes each day for the week. Each route requires two people: a runner and a driver. Members generally drive one during our week, and the routes take about two hours to complete from 10-12.
Our members donate their time, gas, and the use of their vehicles. We are one of nine churches locally who take turns delivering the meals on a rotating basis. The Red Cross coordinates and has the meals ready for us.
UPDATE: as of November, 2022, Meals on Wheels is not currently operational in our area. We will update this page when we can.
Contact
Gina Rydzewski
570.784.0801
Visits: 38
Parish Council of Catholic Women
Our mission is to support, empower, and educate all Catholic women in spirituality, leadership, and service; to inspire and promote Gospel values in a constantly changing world.
PCCW is open to any female.
Our group will be working at the Food Cupboard on Sunday, January 5, starting at 9:00 a.m. after Mass. Please join us in helping our community. We are also working on solidifying plans to assist the elderly in our church community and will share information as it becomes available. Finally, our bulletin board in the cafeteria will get an update in January. Look for information about Catholic literature, regional conferences and the much anticipated 100th anniversary National conference being held in Washington D.C. in August. We wish you many blessings in 2020!
Contact
Carol Moore
e4moore@aol.com
Visits: 20
Parish Pastoral Council
It is our Diocesan policy that each Parish must have a Parish pastoral council to be a consultative board with the pastor to oversee different aspects of Parish life. They create public reports of Parish activity from their monthly meetings and provide input and advice as they discuss and consider issues that affect the Parish community. Membership of the Parish Council is by self-nomination.
Contact Rose Rhoads or Msgr. Lawrence for more information about Parish Pastoral Council.
Contact
Rose Rhoads
570-784-0808
Visits: 38
Prison Ministry
Within the boundaries of the Diocese of Harrisburg, there are fifteen prisons – twelve county prisons, two state prisons, and one federal penitentiary. The Diocesan Conference of Prison Chaplains and Ministers consists of those serving as prison chaplains or lay ministers approved by a local pastor or the Bishop.
Our mission is to provide a resource and network of support for those in prison; to assist in the formulation of diocesan policy and procedures with regard to prison ministry, when appropriate and necessary; and to encourage and facilitate the involvement of laity and ordained in the prison ministry apostolate.
We focus on ministry on those incarcerated in the Columbia County Jail, located on Iron Street, across from the YMCA.
Contact
Bill and Lori Harding
570.336.0319
Visits: 23
Rosary for Our Lady of Fatima ministry
America Needs Fatima is a civic campaign to capture the heart and soul of America with the Message of Our Lady of Fatima. America Needs Fatima campaign is dedicated to bringing Our Lady’s request for prayer and penance with the promise of “Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” Nationally, this is done by the home visitation program, in which a statue of Our Lady visits thousands of private homes yearly and by distributing millions of rosaries, devotional items, and calendars.
Here at St. Columba, we hold periodic Rosary rallies on church grounds to pray the Rosary in conjunction with others throughout the country, dedicating our prayers for our nation.
Contact
Paul Page, Joann Page
570.854.9480
Visits: 18
That Man is You!
That Man is You! honestly addresses the pressures and temptations that men face in our modern culture, especially those relating to their roles as husbands and fathers. The program harmonizes current social and medical science with the teachings of the Church and the wisdom of the saints to develop the vision of man fully alive. It is particularly indebted to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II.
Over the course of three years, That Man is You! successively considers the three most important relationships in a man’s life: his relationship with God, his relationship with his spouse, and his relationship with his children.
THAT MAN IS YOU INVITES YOU TO ATTEND
That Man is You, or “TMIY” is St. Columba’s Men’s Group, using videos and small groups to enhance our faith. This spring we will be delving into the death and resurrection of Jesus to enhance our faith. We meet weekly, Saturday mornings 6:30-7:45 a.m. in the downstairs Maximilian Kolbe room of the parish center, ending in early April. We are always looking for a few more guys to make new friends while we learn about God. We are asking for men to try just 2 weeks; any two weeks is fine. Please feel free to call Jeff Cizewski @ 570-380-9489 with questions. We look forward to seeing YOU!
Visits: 59
Tuesday Crew
This volunteer crew comes together on Tuesday mornings after Mass for maintenance, repairs, special furnishings, and
Expanding to woodcrafting fundraiser for St. Columba School
Othertimes, the Crew is working on handcrafted PA-based wood products, each one a work of art that traditionally has been part of Winterfest since its conception.
New this September 2022, you can purchase Crew products any day you want as part of the Winterfest program. As a Charter Member of the Winterfest, the Crew traditionally provides their crafts one day each year in late November, and like then, all proceeds go to St. Columba School. Now, with a click or two, you can visit our new Facebook page that highlights the various products available for purchasing year-round.
Just jump onto Facebook and search for Tuesday Crew Fundraiser. If you see something you like, click on the product’s image for details and the donation. If you want to own that unique, one-of-a-kind item, message or call (570.387.0823) and someone will be back to you and verify your order. All merchandise will be available for pickup at St. Columba School, 40 East Street, Bloomsburg during regular school days – school hours (8:30 a.m. through 1:30 p.m.) when you can pick up your item with cash or a check made out to St. Columba School. That simple.
Special arrangements can be made for shipping Crew products.
Below is the new QR code that will allow you to submit your donation to St. Columba School for any and all of your Tuesday Crew craft purchases. If you are using a desktop or laptop, you can just CLICK HERE to make that donation. Your craft will be waiting at St. Columba School for you.
Above: The new cross that will hold our new crucified Jesus has its start on the plainer. Larry (left) and Bob handle the 12′ upright board.
Contact us for additional information or custom requests
570-387-0823
Visit our Facebook page for more crafts
NEW: Now you can donate online to St. Columba School when you select a Tuesday Crew craft. A QR code is posted at the bottom of left hand column on this page. But you can also donate by just clicking this link.
Just added below: Houses, Mountains, and Gnomes… Oh, my
Below, click any image to take a look at our shop and some of our crafts being constructed and as finished pieces. Visit our Facebook page to catch even more of our work and for a small donation, make one of these your own.
Visits: 195
Voyagers
Voyagers (Vital Organization of Youthful Adults Greatly Enjoying Recreation and Spirituality) offers an opportunity for the people of St. Columba Parish to come together for social events.
Besides planning such activities, we hold a monthly Voyager luncheon at different area restaurants.
Other activities and opportunities are offered throughout the year. So, check our bulletin for Voyagers’ activities.
VOYAGERS TRIP: Due to lack of interest, the Voyagers seminar scheduled for Monday, February 3, has been canceled due to lack of interest.If you have any questions, please contact Dianne Warren at warrendj1961@gmail.com or 570-204-2082.
Contact
Dianne Warren
570-204-2082
Visits: 22