Home First
Homefirst (formerly Interfaith Council for the Homeless of Union County) provides housing for people who are temporarily homeless. Guests are housed at churches and temples on a weekly basis. Holy Spirit is a support parish for St. Luke's All Saints Church in Union and St. John the Apostle in Clark. We help out 4-5 weeks per year with tasks such as cooking a meal, providing lunches, donations of paper goods, and necessary food for each week's stay. We also assist with social activities and laundering.
Respect Life
The goals of this group are to encourage prayers for a conversion of hearts from a “culture of death” to a “culture of life”; to educate parishioners about issues involving respect for life; to provide activities for parishioners to become more involved in respect life issues.
Community Food Bank
The Community FoodBank of New Jersey, located in Hillside, fights poverty and hunger by the distribution of food and grocery products, by education and training, by creating new programs to meet the needs of low-income people, and by involving all sectors of society in this battle. It assists more than 500,000 people in need and distributes 23 million pounds of food annually. Volunteers are needed to sort and pack food and grocery items, sort new clothing and school supplies in our Kids Division, make telephone calls, do office work, collect food at food drives, set up materials in local supermarkets for our annual campaign, help with mailings (seven scheduled times a year), collect food at trade shows, and offer special skills. Carpenters, electricians, masons, plumbers, fund-raisers, printers, graphic designers, speakers, drivers, computer programmers, special events planners and organizers are all needed.
St. Joseph's Soup Kitchen
Two teams of parishioners from Holy Spirit service the hungry at St. Joseph’s Soup Kitchen in Elizabeth on the 4th Saturday of every other month by cooking and serving a hot meal. Volunteers on these teams either shop for the groceries; cook the meals in their home, or serve the meals to those who come to the soup kitchen.
Social Concerns
This committee was formed to assist the working poor and homeless in the area. Money is raised throughout the year to achieve this purpose. In October, Diner’s Delight is held, wherein members and caring parishioners prepare food and donate items to be sold after all Masses. On Ash Wednesday, we hold a Poor Person’s Supper, consisting of soup and bread. Not only do we raise funds, but we remind people of the true meaning of Lent. Our major fundraiser is our Annual High Tea, wherein all the food and prizes are donated by members of the committee and dedicated friends. Proceeds from these events are shared by several groups, especially the Hillside Food Bank, Special Wishes Foundation (a local Union charity), Camp Fatima, Eddie Gray Camp Fund, and the food pantry of the YMCA of Eastern Union County. The group volunteers at the Hillside Food Pantry several times a year. We are here to assist any parishioner who needs help and assistance will be provided in a confidential manner.