Welcome to the web site page of the Church of Our Saviour monthly cleaning group.
This group of volunteers takes care of the Church cleanup which is carried out once a month; usually the last Saturday of the month, but sometimes another day.
In the group we have few dedicated individuals who clean nearly every month, however, many join occasionally or once a year. Some people try only once. This is the reason why we are in need of volunteers. But we are well aware that each person has competing tasks, preventing most from helping each month, such as: family activities, work, holidays and other commitments or obligations.
The result is that sometimes we have a good sized crew of up to twelve or fifteen people but other months we are just three persons.
This group of volunteers takes care of the Church cleanup which is carried out once a month; usually the last Saturday of the month, but sometimes another day.
In the group we have few dedicated individuals who clean nearly every month, however, many join occasionally or once a year. Some people try only once. This is the reason why we are in need of volunteers. But we are well aware that each person has competing tasks, preventing most from helping each month, such as: family activities, work, holidays and other commitments or obligations.
The result is that sometimes we have a good sized crew of up to twelve or fifteen people but other months we are just three persons.
What time we meet and what we do
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Volunteers gather around 08:30 AM on the last Saturday – unless stated differently in our Parish calendar or on the e-mail reminder sent out from the mailing group. Church doors open and here is a list of chores we try to accomplish:
- dust the floor - clean the confessional - vacuum pews - remove chewing gum from the floors and the pews - clean the Mary’s chapel at the back of the church - clean the children room so that they can play in a safe and clean environment while one of the parents or both can join the Mass - remove wax from the floors and candle holders - clean the main altar - dust the stations of the cross - dust Saint Joseph altar and Mary’s statue - clean entrances - remove stains from glasses - polish brass items - mop the floor - clean the sacristy - dust and vacuum the baptismal font - clean holy water fountains - sort out cleaning tools and place them back - etc. We try to finish cleaning around 12:00 PM: we do what we can with the volunteers who are available, but there is no obligation to finish all tasks mentioned above. So some months, if there are few people joining, what is left undone, we try to get the next time. And regardless of the number of people, there is always a break around 10:00 AM: drinks, coffee and something to eat is always provided. Over the years, we’ve found this a fantastic time to get to know other parishioners we might never meet otherwise. |
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IT IS TEAM WORK
Pews and floor dusting |
Vacuuming pews |
Altar cleaning |
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Who we are
People who join the group have different background, age, purpose: there are families with parents and children; often students; middle-age workers; retired managers and seniors; young professionals; unemployed people; freelancers; teachers; etc. |
Benefits and rewards when you volunteer for this ministry
People may join for other reasons not listed here. For instance, they may help cleaning for asking to the Lord some particular favor or perhaps just because they are seeking an activity which gives an immediate sense of accomplishment and feeling of being useful. Whether you volunteer individually or as part of a group or family, the time you spend will give you satisfaction! The best advice is to join at least once the group and experience yourself. With your family or alone, Please come and join! You’ll be glad you did!
- Whether you come to Church of Our Saviour daily, weekly, or monthly, this building is our faith home. Over the years, several people have reported that the time spent in cleaning, allows a special connection to our Lord in prayer and service
- This is one of the easiest ways to get engaged with the activities of our parish. If you are new and want to start feeling like you fit in, this is a wonderful ministry to start in. You’ll immediately feel a sense of pride the next time you come through the door and remember it is clean and neat because you helped clean. Tools and instructions are provided so no need to bring anything except your arms, your legs and a smile;
- Social moment: our volunteers often have an opportunity to stop for a moment during cleaning to chat and get to know each other: this is very enriching. Also during our break there are opportunities to learn from each other, to exchange information, to do networking and to be updated on what is happening in the parish;
- This is a concrete way to say thanks for what God gives us in life. Cleaning God’s house with happiness, devotion and dedication is probably the most practical way for expressing our gratitude;
- Service to others: being part of a community, even when joining other volunteering groups, it also includes offering service to others. Cleaning is a great way to support our community who can worship in a neat environment. This is a call to serve others; and we believe in loving and helping and supporting others as Jesus commanded;
- Assists in controlling the financial costs. Properly cleaning the church takes about 40 hours or so. If we didn’t have a volunteer cleaning crew, that’s about 40 hours more the parish would need to pay someone for doing this job every month. Thus, our ministry contributes to the savings of Our Saviour, reducing the amount of donations necessary to operate the parish and thus allows the parish to increase support of programs for the poor.
People may join for other reasons not listed here. For instance, they may help cleaning for asking to the Lord some particular favor or perhaps just because they are seeking an activity which gives an immediate sense of accomplishment and feeling of being useful. Whether you volunteer individually or as part of a group or family, the time you spend will give you satisfaction! The best advice is to join at least once the group and experience yourself. With your family or alone, Please come and join! You’ll be glad you did!
Contact Us
If you want to know more or you want to subscribe the cleaning group mailing list to receive news and reminders about the cleaning activity, please write to [email protected] or fill the form below:
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Due to COVID restrictions we did not plan yet dates for 2021. Please check later and we will publish here the
calendar for 2021!
calendar for 2021!
