OUR PARISH STAFF: Serving and Evangelizing

The St. Philip Neri parish staff values serving the community and evangelizing through actions as evident in their Staff Mission Statement, “As a staff, we seek to find joy in all things in the Spirit of Saint Philip Neri. We evangelize through our actions and service and are enthusiastic in sharing Christ within our parish and local community.”

Throughout the year, the staff serves the parish through parish service days and helping with various ministries. For Lent this year, the SPN staff decided to go outside the parish and into the community to serve with joy. In this way, the staff kept in mind one of the pillars of Lent — almsgiving. Reflecting on what the parish staff has received from God, they were ready to give back.

Samaritan’s Feet collects, sorts, and sends shoes from a warehouse in Charlotte, N.C. — a short distance from St. Philip Neri in Fort Mill, S.C. The parish staff spent a day at the warehouse, sorting shoes to be sent throughout the world. When shoes are distributed to communities, missionaries pray with the people, wash their feet, and gift them with brand-new socks and shoes.

Volunteering as a staff is not just simply a way to serve the community but is also an opportunity for building community within the staff. Lynda Curry, the business manager of St. Philip Neri, shares why building a community among the staff is important.

“As a child, our first community is our family,” Lynda says. “As we grow in faith, our community expands to include our neighbors, our faith family, and our co-workers. The importance of community service lies in the fact that it connects and binds us together. We are bound together in service to our community, our faith family, and each other.”

By serving together, the staff grows beyond being simply co-workers in the office — the staff becomes co-workers in the vineyard, sowing the seeds of the Gospel through evangelization and sharing joy.