The Social Action Committee at Our Lady of Lourdes participates in many outreach projects. We work with Habitat for Humanity on an annual basis to assist in the building of a home for a local family. In addition to working with three or four other churches to recruit and coordinate the many hands needed to construct the house over the course of seven Saturdays, Social Action works to raise money within the parish to help fund the project.
Vision
The Social Action Committee is an umbrella ministry for social action initiatives at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Our ultimate goal is to put God’s words into action, to bring God’s kingdom on earth and to reinforce the major themes of Catholic Social Teaching. We aim to provide direct social services by acting swiftly and collectively to help people address pressing needs and to work toward social change by advocating for justice for vulnerable persons and worthy causes and striving to remove the causes of social problems.
Prayer & Plan
Our monthly meetings are usually held on the first Sunday at noon after the 10:30 mass. We always start with prayer and have an agenda prepared for our time together.
People
We encourage parishioners to join our monthly meetings. We maintain a list of member parishioners here.
Energize
2022-23 has been the time to re-energize this ministry. We focused on 3 core issues with speakers in our monthly meetings: Gun Violence, Medicaid Expansion, and Eliminating the Death Penalty. Steps were taken to educate the parish on these issues and encourage advocacy during the General Assembly. We expect to expand these efforts in the next school year.
Release
Our goal is to tap into the parish’s energy for Social Action and find more effective ways to advance important legislation by partnering with organizations like Georgians for a Healthy Future, and Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty.We have worked with other agencies to advocate for particular social justice causes, such as the effort to obtain a moratorium on the death penalty in Georgia. Over the past two years, the Social Action Committee has hosted an Alternative Gift Fair at the church to give parishioners an opportunity to purchase gifts that benefit worthy non-profit organizations.
Members of the committee also volunteer to provide a lunch each October at The Edgewood House, a residential outreach center and housing facility for persons living with HIV/AIDS. About four years ago, the committee spearheaded the parish twinning relationship with Our Lady of Fatima in La Fossette, Haiti, through the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas (PTPA), by raising funds and arranging for the pastor of our sister parish, to make an initial visit to Our Lady of Lourdes.