Parish Organizations and Activities
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The “Spirit of St. Patrick’s” is alive through the wealth of organizations available to its parishioners. Please use this information to avail yourself of the many opportunities within our parish. For more information please call the Rectory at 914-962-5050. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Every weekday the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration from 7:30 AM to 9:00PM in the Chapel of the New Church. While parishioners are encouraged to choose a specific hour for prayer. all are urged to stop in to make a visit to our Eucharistic Lord at any time. In the Spring and Fall of each year, St. Patrick's offers on going classes on a variety of topics to help our Parishioners enrich their Faith Experience. These sessions are announced in our Parish Bulletin, Mass Announcements and our Parish Website. From the time of our Baptism we are called to serve our Lord. This ministry is for the young people of St. Patrick’s School and the Religious Education program from fourth grade and up. This offers the opportunity for the young men and women of our parish to serve Jesus by assisting the priest during Sunday Liturgies, Weddings and Funerals. The Servers meet several times during the year for instructional training and social functions. This “early bereavement” support group began in response to a need for help in grief work. Most of the members have lost a spouse. Many have come for grief support having lost a child or elderly parent. In this early bereavement support group “grief work” is employed as a therapy and an aid to healing the wounds of loss. Listening, sharing and sympathetic understanding are prime tools employed by members to aid each other in their recovery. The early bereavement group meets on every Tuesday from 6-7:30 PM, in the meeting room of the New Church. EARN (Employment Assistance and Resource Network) This ministry of St. Patrick’s provides support for individuals and their families who are experiencing an employment crisis, by identifying and channeling available resources which can best assist them in their time of need. The group works through its bi-monthly insert in our bulletin and monthly meetings. The insert “Employment Exchange” provides a listing of available jobs and positions plus the opportunity to advertise one's skills and availability. The meetings provide guest speakers that address issues for people seeking employment. Qualified professionals are invited to provide useful information to those in the job market. The meetings also provide an opportunity for networking with others. The meetings are held at the Parish Center of the New Church, 7:45 PM on the first Thursday of the month. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Ministers are people entrusted to perform a special function for members of their community. As a result of changes made by and the vision of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church, officially recognizes the ministry of helping priests and deacons in the distribution of Holy Communion either at Mass or when the Eucharist is carried to the homebound or hospitalized. These people are recognized as Special Ministers of the Eucharist. This ministry to the homebound represents an extension of the Parish’s Liturgy. St. Patrick’s is fortunate to have a dedicated and loyal group involved as Ministers of Holy Communion who serve our community faithfully and in a reverential way. Formation as a Minister of Holy Communion involves a series of training sessions that include both the theology and practical aspects of this ministry and ends with commissioning. If you are interested or would like to nominate someone whom you feel is interested and willing to make a commitment to this ministry please contact the rectory. The Home School Association assists the parish school by volunteer service and fund-raising. It promotes communication among parents, teachers and clergy of the parish. There is a general meeting each month of the school year, stressing the continuation of Catholic ideals in education. The hospitality group provides our Parish with the opportunity to build community, spiritually and socially. St. Patrick’s Parish is large and sometimes the chances to meet and socialize with your fellow parishioners are limited. Every Sunday from the 3rd week in September to the 1st week of May after the 9:15 Mass, the members of Hospitality provide us the time and atmosphere to meet in the Msgr. Lynch Parish Center to share in some good nourishment for the body and some community spirit. If you have the chance to join your fellow parishioners after the 9:15 mass, you will find a warm and friendly place. The Lector's role during the Liturgy is to convey the word of God to the Assembly. Reading the Scriptural passages enhances the Spiritual experience for all of us. A group of dedicated people provides this ministry in our parish. Our parish library is a treasure of inspiring and entertaining videos and books which you may borrow free of charge. Select from over 350 videos, some especially designed for children. You will find classic Christian movies, films on the Blessed Mother and the Saints, inspiring talks and more. The library also has over 2000 books for your enjoyment, inspiration and education. Videos may be signed out for a week, books for three weeks. If you want to use a video tape for a class or a group meeting, a longer loan period can be arranged. Library hours are Sundays from 10:15AM to 12:30PM, and Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:00AM. Videos and books may be returned either to the library or to the Rectory. On Tuesday mornings from October through May the library previews a video which is not yet part of its collection. All are welcome to attend this film showing and also enjoy refreshments. The library is staffed by volunteers. For More Information Click here: Library “Midnight Run is an attempt to find a common ground between those of us who are housed and those of us who are not. Midnight Run tries to provide the homeless poor with a few of the bare essentials needed for survival. Midnight Run stands shoulder to shoulder with those who live in the shadows of the city” (excerpts from Midnight Run, Inc. statement of purpose). St. Patrick’s parish is blessed with a very active group that attends to that purpose to its fullest extent. Several times during the year this small group of parishioners ask for donations of various essentials to bring down to the homeless of New York City. You can help by providing the items requested, helping to prepare the food to hand out, or making a run into the city to distribute the items. This novena starts with a weekly mass Monday at 7:30PM in the Main Church. “ Those who sing pray twice.” The Music Ministry at St. Patrick’s includes our Junior Choir (grades 3-8), our High School choir, our ensembles for the 5:15, 9:15, and 12:30 Masses, our 11:00 Mass choir, the 10:30 Folk Group, and our organists and cantors. Members of our Music Ministry serve the parish by helping to lead the sung prayer at weekend and Holy day Liturgies and at sacramental celebrations. Weekly rehearsals are times for learning and prayer to prepare for serving our sisters and brothers at worship. All are welcome to share in this ministry. A spiritual organization of dedicated men and women who spend one hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament of the evening of the third Monday of each month from 8-9PM or 9-10PM in the Main Church Chapel. St. Patrick’s OutReach program consists of a group of parish volunteers who are available to provide certain attentive services for the elderly, the home bound and other special situations in the Yorktown/Somers community. OutReach services typically include a few hours per week dedicated to one or more of the following types of assistance: friendly home visits, telephone reassurance, escort services for medical care or shopping trips, light household chores, some new mothers helpers assistance and other related needs. The mission of Parenting Education is to present information pertinent to age-appropriate behavior and development, teach family communication, conflict resolution and discipline skills, and to create supportive networks for parents seeking to raise spiritually and emotionally Catholic families. Several types of programs are offered, some available weekly, some monthly, some special sessions that run once a week for two, three, or four meetings. Parentcare is a once a week educational discussion group focusing on the progress of each individual child in families with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. There are currently five of these groups meeting one hour on Monday or Wednesday. Moms ‘n Tots ‘n Pops is a Friday morning meeting for the same age group with a focus on lecture type presentation of more generalized information. . In both of these programs, children come along and play while parents learn and socialize and pray together. There is a monthly evening gathering, an extension of the two programs, for parents of children in preschool and early elementary school. There will be a monthly meeting for parents of teenagers.
Limited duration workshops for parents of grade school and pre-teen can
be offered upon request: The mission of St. Patrick’s Parish is to help its parishioners to live the message of Jesus Christ through consideration of their spiritual and, where appropriate, temporal well being. It is the role of the Parish Council to provide the leadership in fulfilling this mission. Members of the Council work through its committees to reach out to the parish and the community. Membership is comprised of the priests and 15 elected members. Five members are elected each year and serve a three-year term. All parishioners 18 years and older are welcome to run for election. General Council Meetings are open to all parishioners and are held on the fourth Monday of the month in the Parish Center at 8:15 PM. Anyone interested in having an issue addressed by the Council or interested in serving as a member should contact the Rectory. Prayer meetings focus on praising and thanking God in prayer and song. Recognizing their need for the Holy Spirit, the group prays for His power and gifts to be active in their lives. Scripture is read to hear God’s guidance and members share how God has been working in their lives. Members of the Prayer Group pray for each other, their families and loved ones, and others in need. Do you need prayer for a special intention? Call their prayer network. The Prayer Group sponsors Healing Masses both at St. Patrick’s and at St. John’s in Mahopac. Prayer meetings are held at 8 PM on Thursday in the Parish Center and everyone is welcome. The Prayer Group hosts quarterly Cluster meetings of the prayer groups of Northern Westchester and Putnam parishes. This is a committee concerned with the dignity of human life in all its stages. Within the parish there are Boy Scouts, Webelos, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts. It is an unfortunate fact that many Catholic marriages end in divorce. It is a tumultuous experience that creates upheaval in the family, and in the entire parish community as well. There is also much misinformation and misunderstanding that unnecessarily alienates individuals from the Church, just when they most need support. The Ministry to the Separated and Divorced offers support, outreach and a caring presence during this stressful time. This Archdiocesan program offers information, education and an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth. This group meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM, in the Family Education Center. Each session will provide an opportunity for participants to express their emotions and experiences, receive support related to any ongoing crisis, and to participate in discussion of the topic for that day. Some of the many topics covered are: loss and the grieving process; parenting during a divorce; anger; loneliness vs. being alone; forgiveness; healing; coping with the holidays; church teaching on divorce and annulment. Group facilitators are not professional counselors; they are Catholics who have experienced divorce themselves and have been trained by the Archdiocese of New York to implement this support program in the parish community. This is a Christ-centered group founded on the teachings of the Catholic Church; ALL ARE WELCOME! Come and be assured that you do not have to go through this experience alone. For more information, call St. Patrick's office at 914-962-5050. Within the parish there are support groups for Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon. This volunteer group sells gift certificates for some of the local supermarkets before and after weekend masses. Our parish receives 5% of all sales. The purpose of the Teams of Our Lady is to help couples grow spiritually in their sacrament. Several couples come together once a month with a chaplain to share a meal like the early Christians (each couple brings something towards the meal). The couples take turns hosting the meeting. They pray together, discuss study material, which has been chosen for the year and share their experience since the last meeting. There are various special activities such as retreats, evenings when all the teams gather together, and Marriage Enrichment day which was open to all the parishes in the Archdiocese. At each meeting a decade of the rosary is said for the vocations of the priesthood and for strengthening of marriage. Teams of our Lady is a worldwide movement started in France in 1938. The Northern Westchester Sector includes 8 Teams from St. Patrick's Parish, and also Teams from Mahopac and Stamford, Ct. St. Patrick’s Trinity Gift Shop The Trinity Gift Shop, located downstairs next to the Msgr. Lynch Parish Center, is a Religious and Catholic Goods store. Items are sold at retail or slightly below and proceeds benefit St. Patrick’s Parish. The shop is open Sundays from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Tuesday - Saturday 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and is closed holidays. The shop provides a wide variety and selection of bibles, books, Rosary Beads, jewelry, gift items, baptismal items, RCIA gifts, First Communion and Confirmation needs. Trinity Gift Shop The ushers of St. Patrick’s Church play an integral role in our parish spirit. They provide us with the comfort of a friendly greeting when we enter the Church for Mass. Their responsibilities start before many of us arrive. Some of the more obvious tasks include: helping people find seating, arrange for the presentation of the gifts, and collection of the offerings. When we finally leave the Church the Ushers are there to hand out the bulletins with the same warmth that greeted you before. Each summer for two weeks our children are provided the opportunity to spend some time with Jesus as well as their friends, through our Vacation Bible School. The children learn scripture in a manner they can easily understand. There is time for play, crafts and songs all structured around Bible lessons. Several adult and student volunteers serve as guides for the children during the two weeks. St. Patrick’s school and play area serve as the backdrop for this fun-filled and spiritual way for your children to enjoy part of their summer. The program is for children from ages 4 to 11, and runs from 9:00AM to noon Monday through Friday. Adult volunteers are always needed to join in this special time with the children. The Widow and Widower group is a follow-on to the Bereavement group. It's purpose is to provide a social gathering for parishioners and to provide for mutual support and sharing of experiences. The gatherings include brunches, attending shows, and social activities. The group meets on the first Tuesday of the month from 7:30PM to 9:00PM in the Msgr. Lynch Parish Center. Yorktown Community Help, Inc. is a non profit organization which was started in the 1960’s by a group of Yorktown area clergy and civic leaders to help provide food for the needy of Yorktown at holiday time. In the early 1980’s the community life committee of St. Patrick’s parish council joined the group, which was down to just a few members, to revitalize and continue the work. We have 3 large holiday distributions, at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas for about 125 families in Yorktown. On the third Wednesday of each month we have a distribution of about 100 bags of food. Food is collected at the Yorktown and Lakeland Schools at Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as many businesses in town. Cash donations are received at Easter time at St. Patrick’s as well as other churches and synagogues. Civic organizations support the needs on a year round basis. Students from St. Patrick’s School and CCD programs provide Christmas and Easter baskets. Holiday time food is sorted by many youngsters doing community service from St. Patrick’s, other churches, Boy and Girl Scouts and adults of the community. To Help support the food needs, “ Thrifty Me,” a thrift shop, is located at Yorktown Community Cultural Center. This is staffed by workers from the churches and civic organizations in Yorktown. People who receive the food are referred to us by Yorktown area pastors, schools, officials, social services, section 8 and other referral agencies. We feel that in a small way the food needs of our Yorktown neighbors are met.
“When I was hungry you gave me to Eat, A youth group for teens in grades 7 through 12. Our Youth Team seeks to help young people in all dimensions of their lives–emotional, spiritual, and relational–and addresses issues especially important to teens, such as peer pressure, sexuality, and drugs. It helps teens explore their commitment to Jesus Christ, but all in a context of exciting activities and excursions, service projects, and serious dialogue about what’s important in their lives. The group meets every Sunday from 7:00PM to 9:00PM in the Msgr. Lynch Parish Center. Click here for more information: Youth Team
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