Service & Justice

Raising Catholic Consciousness about Social Justice Concerns

St. Thomas Aquinas is a Catholic community and as such has a commitment to service and justice.  This page will highlight service and justice opportunities at St. Thomas as well as provide links to Catholic teaching and perspectives on relevant social justice issues.
 

Severe Weather Shelter

As we move closer to winter and the weather gets colder the needs of the homeless in our community get more dire. This year the Washougal Community Center will host a severe weather shelter and they need our help to staff it. If you are interested in helping with our community’s severe weather shelter please go to http://outsidersinn.org/sws to learn more and sign up.

Community Garden

Our community garden has been put to bed for the winter and now we need to spend the winter growing volunteers to support the garden when it gets going next spring. If you are interested in helping with the garden please contact David Lester in the Parish Office or email David@stthomascamas.org.

 

 

Encore Network website:     https://encore.org/encore-network/

Click HERE to apply.

Community Outreach Corner

Community Discussion about
St. Thomas’ Plans to Care for the Poor

 

CLICK HERE to read a summary of the May 15th Community meeting.

Click HERE for a Post Record Article on homelessness in Camas. (Feb. 8, 2018)

 

 

Share The Journey
 

Share The Journey is a global Catholic campaign of compassion and support for migrants and refugees.  Find information and resources:  seattlearchdiocese.org/STJ

Advocate by contacting your representatives: thewscc.org

Donate online at catholiccharitiessusa.org  or at crs.org

St. Joe's Sunday Supper     6:00pm 

Third Sunday of every month is a FREE meal and the discussion topic will be Social Justice Issues.  Please come and get involved.

 

Community Outreach Corner

 

St. Thomas is starting a community garden and we need volunteers to help to construct and maintain the garden. Please contact David in the parish office if you are able to help with our future garden.

Mother and Daughter need volunteers/assistance with exterior work to their home. Painting, debris removal, fencing, siding, and roof repair. Want to bless this family? Contact David at the parish office.

Who Is My Neighbor? The Face of Poverty in Washington State
Visit thewscc.org to download the Pastoral Letter, Study Guide, and Video

 

Join the Good News People today!

  

What is the Good News People?

  • 2 seven week small faith sharing groups intended to help us reflect upon ways to put our faith into action.

When do the groups meet?

  • The groups meet when it is most convenient for the members.  The hope is that we will have several groups meeting on different days and at different times.  Join today and invite your friends!

How do I sign up?

  • Fill out one of the pew cards and drop it in the basket or contact David Lester.

 

Consider joining the PREPARES team at St. Thomas.  Journey with families from a pregnancy through age 5.  Contact David Lester for more information.

 

New City Initiative wants to partner with St. Thomas to journey with families who recently transitioned out of homelessness.  We would like to form a team that can help a family for the first 6 months of this important transition.  Please contact David Lester to get involved.  

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of a family that worked with the Village Support Network.

 

 

 

Habitat for Humanity is looking for parish groups to partner with them to help build affordable housing for local families.  Please contact David Lester if you are interested in forming a Habitat for Humanity team.

 

 

 

  outreach-svdp-logo

St. Thomas Aquinas Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

St. Thomas Aquinas Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) is a spiritually based group of volunteers, inspired by the Christian values of charity and compassion for all.  SVDP provides food, clothing, shelter and other forms of financial assistance to people in need within our parish and within the Camas/Washougal community. 

SVDP members interact personally with their clients and make home visits to assess individual needs.  SVDP conducts several drives throughout the year to solicit specific donations from our parishioners to benefit the needy within our community.  

Meetings are the first Wednesday of every month. For further information about this organization,  contact President, Kim Steinke.  CLICK HERE to view the new website of our Parish chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

 

Respect Life Committee

     The Respect Life Committee is responsible for passing on current information, updates and details of events concerning all aspects of the dignity of human life to the parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas Church.  This is done primarily via the Sunday bulletin, the Summa and an email notification list.
     We also assist other pro-life groups within the Parish: We give support to the local 40 Days for Life Campaign each spring and fall. We assist with procuring items to give away, and the scheduling of people to cover shifts for the Knights of Columbus pro-life booth during Camas Days each July. 
    We are a resource for high school students in the parish doing research papers for school. We provide website addresses and other information to help students find the truth, which is difficult to find in our culture.     We provide information and resources concerning all stages of human life, from conception through natural death.  Contact:  parish office