In partnership with Gladesville and Rozelle Vinnies, the St Merkorious Charity and Ryde-Gladesville Catholic Parish have started Our Lady’s Kitchen to bring freshly cooked meals, bread and the like to those in need in our local area.

Our Lady's Kitchen Volunteers are required on Tuesdays & Thursdays to:

Pick up food from St Merkorious around 12:30pm

Pack Food at 3pm in the Our Lady Queen of Peace Hall

Deliver Food to Clients from 4pm

If you would like to volunteer with Our Lady's Kitchen, please email Judy Raumer at ea@rgcp.org.au for information on role specifics.

Coming soon - Vinnies Van delivering to the Ryde & Cumberland LGA.

If you are interested in learning about being part of the team that goes in the Van, please contact Judy at ea@rgcp.org.au

More information will be available soon.

Ryde-Gladesville Catholic Parish is proud to have a dedicated team of wardens who help to supervise our churches during opening hours and assist visitors during their time with us.

The role involves welcoming guests to our churches, supervising the Blessed Sacrament. Depending on the day of the week, church wardens also have the opportuninity to assist at special events such as funerals, weddings and baptisms.

Church supervision is a great way to spend some extra quiet time with the Lord while the Blessed Sacrament is on display at St Charles, as well as meet and welcome new visitors in the local area to our parish.

You can volunteer for just 1 hour a week or whenever you're available, or if you would like to assist more reguarly we can find you a regular time slot.

If you are interested in this vital ministry, please contact the Parish Office on 9807 2966 or email office@rgcp.org.au for more information about how you can get started.

Many of our parishioners volunteer as Ministers, and assist in various special roles at our Masses, including

• Reader

• Eucharistic Minister

• Acolyte

• Musician/Choir Member

• AV Operator or

• Camera Operator

If you are interested in becoming any of the above, you are most welcome to join our team of over 70 volunteers. It is a great way to be involved in a sacred way in the Mass, and training and support is provided. We have a bi-monthly Ministry Roster which allows parishioners to volunteer in these roles on a regular basis.

For more information, please contact the Office on 980702966 or email office@rgcp.org.au if you'd like to be involved.

Our welcome ministry, in which a team of friendly people welcome parishioners and guests to the church at our 10am Mass, and serve tea and coffee afterwards.

It is a great way to get to know other people in the Parish, and with a growing team we are hoping to expand it to other Mass times as well. If you'd like to know more or are interested in joining, please contact the Parish office on 9807 2966 or office@rgcp.org.au

The Gladesville branch of the St Vincent De Paul Society takes part in the Vinnies Night Patrol initiative, providing hot meals, blankets, toiletries, snacks, hot beverages and companionship to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Sydney.

If you'd like to be involved in the St Vincent De Paul Society at all, particularly with the Night Patrol Van, please visit our Ministry website or the NSW St Vincent De Paul Society website for more information.

If you'd like to be involved with our local group of volunteers, you can contact the parish office at office@rgcp.org.au

We do reccomend that all volunteers have a Working with Children Check if volunteering with our Parish. It is free, and allows you to volunteer with other organisations as well. However the Safeguarding Office has stipulated that it is not necessary for all Parish volunteers, only those in certain roles.

If you fulfill any of the following roles at our Parish, you will need to obtain a WWCC and provide a copy of it along with your date of birth to the Parish Office.

• • Parish Priests, Assistant Priests, Parish Administrators

  • Parish Secretaries

  • Youth Ministers, Workers or Leaders

  • Pastoral Associates

  • Sacramental Coordinators

  • Sacramental Group Leaders

  • Catechists in State Schools

  • Children’s Liturgy Coordinators

  • Children’s Choir Ministry Leaders

  • Acolytes and Senior Altar Servers (aged 18+)

  • Ministers of the Altar

  • Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

  • Ministers of the Word

  • Parish Counters/Collectors

The Safeguarding Office's SALT Training is an incredibly helpful and important tool to help volunteers and staff identity inappropriate or dangerous behavior that may harm the children and vulnerable members of our community. While we do recommend all volunteers complete this training, even if only for their own knowledge, it is only compulsory for regular volunteers or those who come into contact with children reguarly.

If you come into contact with children in your role, or do so more than 5 times per year: You need to complete the SALT Training, as well as all 5 Steps of the Safeguarding documentation. Once completed, you will need to provide your SALT Completion Certificate to the Parish Office, along with the other required documents.

If you do not come into contact with children at all in your role, or do so less than 5 times per year: You do not need to complete the SALT Training.

A Working With Children Check (WWCC) can be obtained from the Office of the Children's Guardian and Service NSW. A volunteer WWC is free, and will not cost you anything, however if you are a paid employee with children at our Parish or elsewhere, you will require an employee's WWC, which incurs a fee of $80.

To obtain your WWCC, go to the Office of the Children’s Guardian website and fill in your details, and then take the completed form to Service NSW along with identity documents. If you or someone else has trouble with the website, you can go straight to Service NSW and apply for the check there.

You can find out more about how to obtain your WWCC here.