This committee of St. Anne’s Sodality buys, arranges and tends the altar flowers throughout the year.
In addition, its members decorate the church for Christmas, arrange the Easter lilies, put up the 2 outside Corpus Christi altars, provide flowers for May Procession and First Communion, set up the altar for the Eucharistic Procession at a Virginia Beach beachside pavilion and prepare the handheld processional candles for the Easter Vigil, October Rosary Processions and Candlemas.
The women rotate weeks according to an Altar Flower Schedule based on the liturgical year. There is a maximum of 5 women on the schedule.
Connie Law (chairman) 757-536-2277, cassalso@aol.com

The Chapel has no cleaning service except the members of St. Benedict’s who faithfully see that our House of God is respectfully cleaned on a weekly basis. Semi-annually major cleaning is performed before Christmas and Easter. St. Anne’s Sodality oversees the coordination of the cleaning though the men are regular helpers.
WEEKLY CLEANING There are teams of 2 persons or more who sign up to clean a particular week of the month. There is flexibility when the cleaning is done during the week but it is finished by Saturday afternoon. All weeks are numbered by Saturdays. (i.e.Team 1 is 1st Saturday of the Month and so on.)
MAJOR CLEANING Prior to Christmas and Easter there is an all day Chapel cleaning and grounds spruce up on a Saturday. Windows, light fixtures, pews, candlesticks, etc. get a thorough going over.
Contact the church Office to help.

There are unique, non-recurring functions/events outside those that are regularly sponsored by St. Anne's Sodality and/or St. Joseph's Guild that require coordination of food, drinks, room set-up and/or Audio/Visual set-up, e.g., guest speaker. When such events occur, the Hospitality co-chairs contact members of our "volunteer bank" who are responsible for attending to the specific needs of the event.

St. Anne’s Sodality oversees the Sunday Socials (currently suspended) after the three morning Sunday Masses. Teams of two or more commit to one Sunday a month for either the 7:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m. or the 11:00 am Mass. The Sunday Socials serve coffee, juice and donuts. A designated volunteer picks up the donuts on Saturday mornings and brings them to the church using a church credit card. Volunteers for the Sunday Socials set up the coffee and donuts, serve it and clean up. The Requisition Chair purchases and stocks the paper goods, cleaning products and coffee supplies.

St. Anne's Sodality President may be contacted through St. Benedict's Flocknotes message system or by calling the phone number listed in the bulletin.

St. Benedict’s Parish Soup Kitchen Ministry is a monthly group of rotating volunteers who work in the Sunday Soup Kitchen at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Volunteers help to setup, distribute meals, and clean up each First Sunday of every Month between 1 & 3 p.m. in the Church’s Commons Area. The Sacred Heart Church is located in the Ghent Historic District of downtown. Address is 520 Graydon Ave., Norfolk, VA 23507. Phone Number is (757) 627-1965. At least 12 Volunteers are needed for each Month’s team. No prior experience is required. Minimum age is 10 years old. You must arrange for own transportation to and from Soup Kitchen. This ministry makes a Great Family activity for offering the Corporal Works of Mercy, to our Lord, Jesus Christ!
St. Benedict's POC: Mrs. Marguerite Frier 757-777-7726 or frierfam

St. Benedict's Catholic Bookstore and Gift Shop in the Social Room has grown over the years. Today there are Crucifixes, Latin/English Missals, Douay Rheims Bibles, beautiful mantillas, rosaries, medals, statues, books, pamphlets and more for all ages. There are gifts for Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation. Of course there are the traditional Christmas items, too. Please pay with cash or check made out to St. Benedict's Bookstore.
Just a few women do the ordering, stocking and bookkeeping. All the proceeds go back to items for the Church; e.g. Altar Linens.
Bookstore Operator: Scila Hudson scihud
Assistant: Mrs. Pat McKinney

The Altar Guild exists for the purpose of laundering and maintaining the altar cloths and all related linens pertaining to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The members of the guild are Patricia McKenney, Elpidia Cruz, Tina Jimenez, Norma Evangelista, and Barbara Longtin.

Carmella Wortham and Jeanette Martin are responsible for the laundering and mending of Albs. If you are interested in helping, please contact Pat McKenney at 757-464-1181.

The parish building and its mechanical and electrical systems sometimes need minor repairs that don't require calling in the "big boys" - carpenter, electrician, plumber. By offering your time and expertise in any of these areas you help the parish save the cost of hiring a professional. In addition, help with individual home repairs is offered.

If you can change fluorescent light bulbs, remove and re-install a light fixture, unclog a drain, remove large dropped limbs, clean out gutters, and any other small repair jobs please contact the Chairman of this committee.

The President of St. Joseph's Guild may be contacted through St. Benedict's Flocknote message system or by calling the phone number listed in the bulletin.

The primary contribution made by members of the Sewing Guild is the loving preparation of the beautiful baptismal bibs provided to each baby baptized at St. Benedict’s Chapel. While this is an ongoing project, members also handle the occasional minor repairs to vestments, assist with making and repairing the costumes used in the annual Christmas Pageant, make the tabernacle veils, and decorate the Lourdes Shrine for the annual May Procession.
If you would like to know more about how you can help, please contact:
Louise Forrest - Chair, 757-403-6561; or at forrest

We may not all have the ability to go forth and feed the hungry directly, but we can all contribute food to a food pantry and thereby assist in this great work of mercy. St. Benedict's has a basket located in Forrest Hall in which parishioners can place non-perishable food items. All of the food donated is collected and delivered weekly to the food pantry at St. Gregory the Great Church by a member of the Food for the Poor committee. If you can assist in this work, please contact: Lori Miklos - Chair 479.0128 or email miklos

St. Vincent de Paul of St. Benedict's Parish is here to help members of our society who are in grave need of help, especially in these economically uncertain times. Assistance rendered goes to helping families or individuals pay bills or acquire groceries. The St. Vincent de Paul Society asks that those in need of help provide a notice of eviction or a utility cut-off notice. Once these are procured, the St. Vincent de Paul Society will provide assistance according to its resources.
If you would like to learn more or get involved in helping the less fortunate, please contact Mrs. Nancy von Tersch at nanvonter

General Choir practice: 6:30PM on Thursdays except for the first Thursday which is at 7PM
Mandatory Sunday Schola practice: 11AM on Sundays and immediately after the 11AM Mass
Mandatory Sunday Choir practice: 11:30AM on Sundays

Dates and times are subject to change. See choir flocknotes for details.

Those interested in joining the choir should contact Elizabeth Stephenson
Text or Call (757)556-7892 Email: sfgardener@yahoo.com

Those interested in joining the schola should contact Seth Bauer. Email: sethbau@mail.regent.edu

The Pro-life program at Saint Benedict’s strives to educate and involve Parish members (both actively and contemplatively) in all aspects of Pro-life: Abortion, Bioethics (including Embryonic Stem Cell research and Human Cloning), Birth Control, Euthanasia.
Group Rosary
Every second Saturday, Saint Benedict’s sponsors a Group Rosary for Pro-Life. Following the 9:00AM Mass, we meet in Saint Benedict’s parking lot for a blessing by Father, then all drive to Planned Parenthood Headquarters on Newtown Rd. in Virginia Beach. Once there, Father leads us in 15 decades of the Rosary. This effort is:
· Prayer Centered
· Family Friendly
· No Signs
Contact information: Parish Secretary: Mr. Alfred Cousins 757.543.0561 or frdam