We know that it only takes one person to make a difference, and when one person has a good idea, we all pitch in to make it happen.
We support our community by collecting food for area food pantries. Recognizing the number of communities we call home, we donate food to different pantries across the area. We hold blood drives, collect food for local animal shelters and host a mitten tree for a local women’s shelter.
Each year we help struggling families through the Cathedral Shelter Christmas Basket program. Our families purchase Christmas gifts for another family, which is affiliated with the Cathedral Shelter. Potential basket recipients screened by the Cathedral Shelter are selected by parishioners. Transfiguration has a long tradition of being one of the parishes in the Diocese with the most participants winning recognition from the Diocese for the most participation among small parishes.
Our church members pray weekly for those serving in our military at home and abroad. We pray for those killed in action by name at each Sunday service. We’ve also worked with a local VFW chapter to provide gift cards to military families and sent care packages to those stationed far from home.
We’ve purchased mosquito nets for families in Third World Countries and uniforms for school children in Africa through Diocese-sponsored programs.
We make prayer blankets for those in our parish and community who need a little extra comfort. Volunteers come from Transfiguration and the wider community to prepare blankets, which are tied and blessed during the next Sunday service. Each blanket is hand-delivered to community members, and some have been shipped as far as Japan.
Cooking for families at the Oak Lawn RonaldMcDonald House is one of our newest ministries. Teams from Transfiguration prepare meals for those living at the local Oak Lawn Ronald McDonald House. Guests are parents of children being treated at the Hope Children’s Hospital.
We’ve expanded our Habitat for Humanity ministry to give more parishioners an opportunity to participate in nearby community projects. A Women’s Day is planned for spring.