Sharing God's Love and Transforming the World

Current Parish Volunteer Opportunities:


Uncle Pete's Sack Dinner Ministry -
A Just Harvest Lunch Service -  
South Side Sundays - Travel with others to one of our sharing parishes on the last Sunday of the month for Mass. Sign up here.

Tutoring at Augustus Tolton Academy (parish school of St. Moses the Black) - Tutors carpool there on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. For openings please email Liz McGowen.

As parishioners of Divine Mercy, our vision calls us to share God’s love and transform the world.  As Catholics, we are guided by the corporal works of mercy to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, comfort the sick, visit those in prison and bury the dead.  As Christians, we believe that serving others is not only an opportunity to live out the gifts of our faith, but to encounter the person of Jesus Christ.  By entering into relationship with others, we are reminded of our own need, and the generosity we have received from others and our Lord.  

Current Non-Parish Volunteer Activities

  • Tutoring at Beacon Place - After school tutoring and activities for children in kindergarten through 6th grade, 603 S. McAlister Ave. in Waukegan. Hours are on weekdays from 3:30-5:30 pm. Click here to visit the website.
  • Tutoring or bringing meals at C24/7 - After school tutoring in Rogers Park that feeds children dinner, at 1543 Howard St. in Chicago. Hours are on weekdays from 3:30-6:00 pm. Click here to visit the website.
  • Meals on Wheels of Northeastern Illinois - Meal delivery, operations assistance, food packers, and kitchen prep are all needed. Visit mealsonwheelsnei.org/volunteer
  • The Volunteer Center - Whether you are looking for a one-day activity, age-appropriate opportunities for middle schoolers or high schoolers, or a long-term way to get involved, Divine Mercy Parish partners with the Volunteer Center to access hundreds of organizations. Visit volunteercenterhelps.org

Our Outreach Ministries

St. Moses the Black Sharing Parish
​(formerly known as St. Columbanus)
A parish partnership with multiple opportunities for sharing our gifts such as:
  • volunteering at the St. Moses Food Pantry on Wednesday mornings beginning at 8:00 a.m., during which volunteers pack and distribute perishable and non-perishable food to the clients of the Food Pantry; or
  • donating food to the St. Moses Food Pantry by leaving non-perishable items in the Sacred Heart Church gathering space or the St. Philip the Apostle vestibule; or
  • donating to the Christmas Sharing gift card program; or
  • tutoring students at St. Moses’ school, Augustus Tolton Academy, on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings during the school year.  Join a regular group of parishioners who give of their time and talent with the children of St. Moses.
For more information contact:
Kathleen Clarke
[email protected]
Liz McGowen, 847-446-0856 ext. 108
[email protected]
St. Benedict the African Sharing Parish
Parish partnership with opportunities for sharing gifts such as the Christmas Sharing gift card program and the School Supply Drive.  Both of these efforts provide important resources for St. Benedict the African. All donations provide material assistance to the poor in the community.

For more information, contact:
Liz McGowen, 847-446-0856 ext. 108
[email protected]
A Just Harvest Community Kitchen
The A Just Harvest Community Kitchen has served a nutritious dinner to 150+ Rogers Park neighbors every night for 30 years. A Just Harvest organizes volunteers to deliver food to clients or assist in other ways.  
Divine Mercy Parish will continue to provide food and volunteer servers on the third Sunday of each month. We need six volunteers on that Sunday, all age 12 or older, to serve lunch from 11 am to 2:30 pm.
Volunteers also are needed to bring the following to the Parish Center on the day before:
  • chicken casseroles (recipe provided)
  • canned food
  • salad
  • homemade cookies
  • A person with a large car is also needed to deliver items to A Just Harvest on Saturday afternoon between approximately 1-2 pm.  Contact Liz McGowen, [email protected] or 847-446-0856 ext. 108.
 
For more information contact:
Liz McGowen, 847-446-0856 ext. 108
[email protected]
Uncle Pete's Ministry
​Looking for a great family activity? Join us the first Monday evening of every month at 7:00 p.m. in the Parish Center at Sacred Heart to create sack dinners for the less fortunate.  Our team of volunteers will prepare at least 300 sack dinners. All items and supplies are provided. No experience is necessary and all ages are welcome.

The meals will go to A Just Harvest and our other outreach partners.

Uncle Pete’s Ministries began in 2010, and has distributed thousands of sack dinners to the homeless in the Chicago area. If you want to learn more about this ministry, go to www.osbchicago.org/unclepeteministries. 

Contribute: Each Uncle Pete's sack dinner costs about $3. We would love to have your support. You may use GiveCentral: Giving Donations (givecentral.org)

For more information, contact Liz McGowen, our Director of Pastoral Care and Outreach at the parish.
[email protected] or call, 847-446-0856 ext. 108.
Ministers of Care
​In our gospels, we proclaim a Lord who suffers with the suffering, who grieves with the grieving, who knows our isolation and our pain.  Every Christian is called to the tasks of healing and comforting and companionship. (Handbook for Ministers of Care, Liturgy Training Publications).

Ministers of Care are ordinary people called to minister to ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.   Parishioners are commissioned by Divine Mercy to bring the compassion, prayer and communion of the parish, and the church, to the sick and homebound.  These ministers are commissioned to bear witness to the suffering of parishioners and of Christ.  This is a ministry of presence: the presence of the minister of care, and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

At Divine Mercy, we bring the bread of life, the Eucharist, to someone who cannot come to either of our worship sites. We have ministers who are trained to bring the Eucharist to our members in the hospital, nursing homes, in rehab centers, and to those who are homebound.

If you would like to become a Minister of Care, or if you know someone who would benefit from a weekly visit or some companionship during an illness, or period of rehabilitation, please contact:
Liz McGowen, 847-446-0856 ext. 108
[email protected]
Be a Hunger Hero
​Help Fight Hunger Locally!
Our local food pantries need our help.  Currently, both the New Trier Township and Northfield Township Food Pantries are seeing record demand.  Many families are relying on the pantries to feed their families. As a result, each month we will collect much needed pantry items.

We will have pantry collections on the second Sunday of each month during specified hours.  Watch the bulletin for items needed each month.

Drop off times:
St. Philip:  Second Sunday mornings  7:45 - 9:15 a.m.
Collection Boxes will be located in the back of church. 
 
Sacred Heart: 4:30 - 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. - Noon on Sunday
Collection Boxes will be located in the vestibule of the parish office, just off the Church gathering space.
 
Questions?
Liz McGowen, 847-446-0856 ext. 108
[email protected]
Interfaith Knitting Group
This group brings together a diverse group of interfaith knitters to foster friendship and work together making hand-crafted items for those in need.  In 2024, they donated more than 250 hats, 20 scarves, and 6 lap blankets to those in need.

No experience necessary - experienced knitters can teach and encourage beginners.

The group meets twice a month and rotates among the houses of worship. The 2025 Winter/Spring schedule is as follows:

February 10 and 24: Glencoe Union Church
March 10 and 24: Divine Mercy at Sacred Heart
April 14 and 28: North Shore United Methodist Church
May 12: North Shore Congregation Israel

Want to make a donation to the group so they can purchase more yarn?  Click here.

Questions?  Contact parishioner host:
Lisa Lesniak at 847-340-1852
Haiti Ministry
Divine Mercy Parish has been a Sister Parish of St Jean Baptiste Parish in Sassier, Haiti since 1998. We work to support the aspirations of our sisters and brothers in Haiti for a better life.  We work to identify and implement ways to support our sister parish, school and medical center.

For more information contact:
Deacon Gerry Keenan
[email protected]
Love Your Neighbor
We initiated our Love Your Neighbor ministry as the Coronavirus pandemic became part of our lives in March 2020.  This ministry enlists parishioners to connect with our seniors, those who live alone and those in need.  Participants touch base with fellow parishioners regularly, and offer to help if they might need groceries, supplies or just a friendly phone call. 

We have heard wonderful stories from our Love Your Neighbor participants, be they from the helping or receiving end!  We hope most of these connections will last beyond the pandemic!

If you’re aware of anyone in need, or you'd like to be one of our Love Your Neighbor volunteers, please contact:

Liz McGowen, 847-446-0856 ext. 108
[email protected]
Fr. Paul Foundation:  ​A 501C3 Outreach of Divine Mercy Parish
​Rev Paul Satkunanayagam, SJ. lived in the Sacred Heart Rectory for 4 years several years ago, while taking graduate level courses at Loyola University. While living at Sacred Heart, he visited the sick, taught in our school, trained children to serve Mass, served as a chaplain at Regina Dominican high school, said daily and Sunday Mass and preached what it really means to 'love your neighbor'.

He then returned to his native Sri Lanka and began his mission to make peace in a country torn apart by civil war.  There are very few Christians there, most of the population being Bhuddists, Hindus and Muslims, Father Paul ministers without regard for religion to all people. He established the world acclaimed Butterfly Peace Garden to restore normalcy in the lives of child soldiers. He built facilities to house orphans and created programs to help widows become self-sufficient.

As a pastoral counselor and psychologist, he founded a professional counseling center to counsel the displaced victims of war. Some were afraid to go to the counseling center because in their culture it was thought to be a sign of weakness. As a result, he began to train lay people in the art of counseling and sent them out 'two by two' to the homes of those who would not come to the counseling center. It is a custom in Sri Lanka to leave your shoes at the door when entering someone‘s home; thus they became known as the Barefoot Counselors.

On the day after Christmas in 2004 many homes, the entire fishing industry and much of what Fr. Paul had built, were wiped out in hours by a Tsunami. The need for the Barefoot Counselors increased exponentially. Dr. Michael A. McNulty, who Father Paul had trained to be an altar server when he was a child, and who is a psychotherapist, shared with Father Paul, some innovative methodology used in New York after 911 to train volunteers in trauma counseling. Father asked Dr. McNulty to come to Sri Lanka and help train the Barefoot Counselors in this methodology. He has been going there twice a year for 10 days to two weeks ever since.

Our Outreach envelopes offer us the opportunity to contribute each month to Father Paul and his humanitarian work among all of the people of God regardless of religion or ethnicity. On his behalf, thank you for your support.
Viator House of Hospitality
Mission
Viator House of Hospitality provides compassionate accompaniment of young adult male immigrants seeking asylum.

History
Established Jan.17, 2017, Viator House of Hospitality provides a supportive living environment where up to 25 young men can attend school, grow spiritually and emotionally, receive medical attention, and even work while they await immigration
proceedings that determine whether they can become U.S. citizens. They can also live at
VHH after such proceedings as they begin to build a life here. It is grounded in the tradition
of the Clerics of St. Viator, founded in the 1830s to work with children in rural France.

To learn more about Viator House of Hospitality, please visit their website at https://viatorhouseofhospitality.com.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities at Viator House of Hospitality, contact parishioner Lisa Lesniak at [email protected] or the Volunteer Coordinator at Viator House, Beth Linnen at [email protected].