Service Day 2025

Nov 1

Sharing HOPE through Service

Service Day is an opportunity for our parish at large to gather and go out throughout Chicagoland to our various Saint Clement partner organizations to help them complete some of their most needed projects. The impact of our collective work resonates deeply within the communities we served and embodies Jesus’ mission of love and compassion. In 2025 we have introduced a Spring Service Day as well as a Fall Service Day. We hope you join us to see the profound difference we can make when we come together in service to others! Learn more below. Questions about Service Day? Please contact Christa Kingsley.

RECAP OF FALL 2025 SERVICE DAY

Fall Service Day: Serving Together as One Community

On Saturday, September 20, Saint Clement hosted our first-ever Fall Service Day—a new complement to our long-standing Spring Service Day. With two parish-wide service opportunities now each year, our community has even more ways to put faith into action and serve together in tangible ways.

We are so grateful to everyone who made time in their busy schedules to serve others on Sept. 20th. Your generosity of time and talents brought joy and tangible help to our neighbors—and truly brought Christ’s love to life in our community. We would love to hear your feedback by email (ckingsley@clement.com). Here are a few of the comments we have heard so far:

Mission of Our Lady of Angels: The MOLA service group started early on Saturday, and everyone brought full energy to their assigned tasks! Some of us were gardening, which serves as a community garden for the neighbors. Some of us were packing bags of food that would be sent to senior citizens in need. Some were preparing a banquet hall for an upcoming party for neighborhood families.

We took great inspiration from the sisters of the Mission, who inspired us with their compassion and sensitivity for the neighboring community. Working alongside full-time Mission volunteers exposed us to service role models who we can emulate—many of us from Saint Clement left with strong interest in returning to help at the Mission's unique food pantry events!

Misericordia Home: It went great today! We played a basketball game for the first hour and then got to walk around with some of the residents and see a car show that they were having. We were all very impressed with Misericordia campus and how well they run things. The residents were fun to play with and brought us plenty of smiles and laughs. Everyone seemed to have a great time and expressed interest in more opportunities to serve at Misericordia or elsewhere.

Feed My Starving Children: Our 90-minute group session packed 175 boxes of meals, which is 37,800 meals! That means 103 children will be fed daily over the next year because of your service. Thank you for carving out your time on Saturday to go all the way out to Schaumburg.

Through these efforts, our parishioners not only made a tangible impact but also shared Christ’s love with others in powerful and practical ways.

We are deeply grateful to every volunteer who gave their time, to those who organized and led the day, and to all who prayed for the success of this new initiative. Fall Service Day was a true witness to the spirit of Saint Clement—living our faith, serving others, and growing together as one community.

RECAP OF SPRING 2025 SERVICE DAY

Thank you to all who joined our 2025 Spring Service Day!

Hands, Hearts, and Faith in Action!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make this spring’s Service Day (held May 3, 2025) such a meaningful success. With open hearts and ready hands, our parish came together to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Over 300 parishioners volunteered at more than 20 service sites across Chicagoland, bringing care, joy, and hope to neighbors in need.

From picking up trash at Montrose Beach to playing bingo with our neighbors at H.O.M.E., from building butterfly sanctuaries to gardening, crafting cards for residents of Hope Manor, packing 100 eco-friendly care bags for guests at Friday Hospitality, adding meaningful stepping stones and landscaping to our Laudato Si' Garden, and much more, each project was an expression of who we are as a parish: a community rooted in faith that leads with purpose and serves with compassion.

We are grateful God gave us a beautiful (albeit windy!) day—and your presence made it shine. You showed up with humility, joy, and generosity, embodying what it means to live out our faith. It was inspiring to see parishioners of all ages serve side by side—sharing not only time and talents, but also hope and human connection.

Thank you also to all who contributed to our Kitchenware Drive for the Chicago Furniture Bank—we collected around 50 boxes of essential items!

Special thanks to our incredible planning committee—Luis Alejo, John DeFranco, Dani Jachino, Loraine Leung, Joe Quinn, Rebecca Reyes, Meg Rux, Helen Wargel, and Casey Welby—for months of thoughtful preparation. We also extend our gratitude to Christa Kingsley, our dedicated staff, and Father Peter for supporting and championing this beloved tradition.

Thank you again for your presence, your love, and your faith in action. Together, we made a difference and continue to grow the Kingdom of God, one act of service at a time.

See photos from event below and view our Instagram Reel.