Parish Social Ministry
Empowering parishes to serve their neighbors with mercy and justice
Strengthening the Church's Mission to Serve
Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri partners with parishes across the Diocese of Jefferson City to help them live out Catholic social teaching through hands-on service and community engagement.
The parishes of our diocese are centers of charity and mercy in their communities. Through our Charity & Mercy Grants program, we provide direct funding to parishes and faith communities to launch new ministries or expand acts of mercy — helping neighbors regardless of faith affiliation.
Does your parish or school have a ministry idea that serves vulnerable neighbors? Apply for a Charity & Mercy Grant to bring it to life. Grants help launch new ministries or expand existing acts of mercy rooted in each pastoral plan.
Apply TodayCharity & Mercy Grants
In 2025, we distributed 5 Charity & Mercy Grants to parishes, helping them respond to urgent local needs and launch new community ministries.
Charity in the Spirit of Pope Benedict XVI
The crux of funding Charity & Mercy Grants rests on “charitable service” as defined in Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love). In his encyclical, the late pope lists three specific qualities of a Church-related charitable service, realized when the ministry:
Read Deus Caritas Est (see paragraph 31)- 1
Responds to immediate needs and specific situations with more than “technical care,” but with genuine love and heartfelt concern that enables others to experience the richness and totality of their humanity, made in the image and likeness of God. (DCE #31)
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Is independent of parties or ideologies but sees with the heart where love is needed and acts accordingly, utilizing planning, foresight, and cooperation with other like-minded institutions. (DCE #31)
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Is love given freely. It is not proselytism. The Christian knows when it is time to speak of God and when it is better to say nothing and to let love alone speak. (DCE #31)
Grant Guidelines
Please review the following guidelines before submitting a Charity & Mercy Grant application.
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The ministry will be parish-based and operated by the parish.
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Funding will be used for a direct service ministry that helps meet the unmet needs of those within the parish's community. Funding should also be used to expand the capacity of a current ministry to serve more people or be used to start a new long term sustainable ministry.
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Subsequent year grants may be awarded based on the number of other applications, the ministry's fit to the criteria of the award, and the availability of funds. Parishes may apply for funding once every 12 months from the date of the initial application. Priority will be given to those parishes meeting the above criteria with new projects.
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Applications must be received by e-mail or direct mail by the Parish Social Ministry office at Catholic Charities. When we receive your application, we will send you an e-mail acknowledging that we have received it.
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A committee of Catholic Charities Board members, Advisory Committee members, and staff review all applications. If more information about an application is needed, they will contact you. The CCCNMO Board makes the final decision.
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The Pastors or Administrators and/or contact persons for the ministries are notified of the Award or grant selections quarterly.
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Grant Report requests will be sent with award letters. Grant reports with photos are due within 12 months of the date of the award letter. CCCNMO board members may visit the parish prior to the awarding of the grant.
Charity & Mercy Grant Application
Check Presentations
Grant HistoryCharity & Mercy Grant Recipients+
- St. John Henry Newman Catholic Church, Columbia — Social Justice Foundation
- St. Patrick Catholic Church, Clarence — Haven House
- St. Anthony of Padua — Provide Meals at Salvation Army Center
- St. Michael Catholic Church, Russellville — Utility Relief
- St. Bernadette Catholic Church, Hermitage — Backpack Weekend Food
- Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, St. James — St. James Caring Center
- St. Bernadette Catholic Church, Hermitage — Toys for Kids
- St. Bernadette Catholic Church, Hermitage — Child Advocacy
- Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Macon — Community Garden
- St. Joseph Catholic Church, Salisbury — Chariton County Child Welfare
- St. Joseph, Westphalia — Good Shepherd Pantry
- St. Peter Catholic Church, Jefferson City — In support of St. Vincent de Paul Society Beds for Kids
- St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, St. Robert — Community Outreach
- St. John Henry Newman Center Parish, Columbia — Catholic Service and Social Justice in Columbia
- Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Kirksville — Bus for school and deanery
- Holy Family Catholic Church, Hannibal — Ministry support
- Sacred Heart Parish, Columbia — English Language Learner Program
- St. Lawrence Parish, St. Elizabeth — In support of Helping Hands expansion
- St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Iberia — In support of Helping Hands expansion
- St. Vincent de Paul Conference of St. Pius X Parish, Moberly — Development of a Beds for Kids program
- St. George Parish, Hermann — In support of the Ministerial Alliance of the Hermann Area
- St. Mary Parish, Shelbina — St. Mary Works of Mercy parish outreach
- St. Ann Parish, Warsaw — St. Joseph's Table social ministry
- St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Sedalia — Giving Garden social ministry
- St. Vincent de Paul Conference of Immaculate Conception Parish, Montgomery City — Emergency assistance ministry
- St. Thomas More Newman Center Parish, Columbia — Interfaith Garden Project
- El Puente Hispanic Ministry, Jefferson City — Phone System Upgrade
- St. Bernadette Catholic Church, Hermitage — Community Outreach
- St. Vincent de Paul Conference of St. Brendan Parish, Mexico — Beds for Kids Program
- St. Joseph School, Westphalia — Blankets for Babies and Cozy Covers Program
- Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Lake Ozark — In support of Lake Area Helping Hands
- St. Joseph Parish, Edina — St. Vincent de Paul Society
Charity & Mercy Grants in Action
Stories of parishes putting their Charity & Mercy Grants to work, published in The Catholic Missourian.
Prison Ministry
Our prison ministry serves incarcerated individuals and their families, providing spiritual accompaniment, reentry support, and connection to community resources to help restore dignity and rebuild lives.
The 38 counties of the Diocese of Jefferson City and Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri include 7 correctional facilities — the most of any diocese and Catholic Charities in the state of Missouri.
Prison Ministry Stories
An insight into Prison Ministry in the Diocese of Jefferson City.
Blessing Barrels
From Your Hands to Theirs
This community outreach initiative invites parishes and schools to adopt a Catholic Charities-provided wine barrel to serve as a collection point for food, hygiene products, clothing, seasonal essentials, and more. Once full, donations are distributed locally to support a local family, organization, or others in need.
Simple giving. Local impact.
Current Need: We are gratefully accepting donations of wine and whiskey barrels to keep this program running. If you have a barrel to donate, please email development@cccnmo.org or call 573-635-7719.
Who Is My Neighbor?
Interested in bringing your parish community together for meaningful conversation and faith-filled reflection? Who Is My Neighbor? explores Catholic social teaching on immigration by inviting participants to share a meal, pray with Scripture and sacred art, and engage in large and small group discussions.
Shared meal
Prayer with Scripture and sacred art
Large and small group discussions
Sacred Art for Visio Divina
During the program, participants pray with sacred art in the tradition of Visio Divina, reflecting on images that depict the Holy Family as migrants, refugees, and neighbors.
All artwork © Kelly Latimore Icons
Bring This Program to Your Parish
Reach out to Marissa Flores Madden, Director of Family Immigration Services.
Who Is My Neighbor? Flyer
Click here to download/view the flyer.
How You Can Help
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