Lenten Almsgiving: How Your Parish Can Organize Service Projects

Lent is a season of renewal, a time when the Church calls the faithful to deepen their relationship with God through the three pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. While prayer and fasting are deeply personal disciplines, almsgiving is inherently communal — it is the practice of giving our time, talents, and resources to those in need.

For parish leaders — pastors, deacons, ministry heads, and pastoral council members — Lent presents a unique opportunity to mobilize the community toward acts of service. Parishioners are spiritually motivated and eager to participate, but they often need practical guidance and coordination to turn good intentions into action.

This guide will walk you through organizing effective Lenten service projects in your parish.

Understanding Almsgiving Beyond Financial Giving

When we think of almsgiving, the first image that comes to mind is often monetary donations. But the Church's understanding of almsgiving is far richer. The Catechism teaches that almsgiving is "a witness to fraternal charity" and "a work of justice pleasing to God" (CCC 2462).

Almsgiving encompasses:

• Sharing time: Visiting the homebound, driving someone to a medical appointment, or sitting with an elderly parishioner
• Sharing talents: Cooking a meal for a family in crisis, helping with home repairs, tutoring a child
• Sharing resources: Donating food, clothing, or household supplies

The beauty of parish-based almsgiving is that it connects those with resources directly to those with needs — within the trust and safety of a faith community.

Step 1: Identify the Needs in Your Community

Before Lent begins, take time to understand what your parishioners actually need. This might seem obvious, but many parishes launch service projects based on what organizers assume people need, rather than what they actually need.

How to Discover Real Needs

• Announce it at Mass: Invite parishioners to share their needs confidentially with a ministry coordinator
• Work with existing ministries: Your St. Vincent de Paul conference, Knights of Columbus council, or Ladies Auxiliary likely already know who needs help
• Use a digital needs board: Tools like NearPew allow parishioners to post needs privately, with different visibility levels to protect dignity
• Talk to your parish secretary: They often hear needs before anyone else

Common Parish Needs During Lent

• Transportation: Rides to Mass, medical appointments, or grocery shopping — especially for elderly or disabled parishioners
• Meals: Families dealing with illness, loss, or financial hardship
• Companionship: Shut-in parishioners who feel isolated
• Home maintenance: Small repairs, yard work, or cleaning for those who cannot do it themselves
• Prayer support: Those going through difficult times who need the spiritual support of the community

Step 2: Match Needs with Volunteers

The biggest challenge in parish service is not a lack of willing volunteers — it's the coordination gap. People want to help but don't know who needs it or how to offer.

Bridging the Gap

• Create a volunteer sign-up: Let parishioners indicate what types of help they can offer (driving, cooking, visiting, etc.)
• Use a matching tool: Platforms like NearPew let volunteers browse posted needs and offer their help directly, so coordinators don't have to manually match every request
• Organize by ministry: Assign different service areas to existing ministry groups (e.g., meal trains to the Ladies Auxiliary, transportation to the Knights)
• Set clear expectations: Volunteers should know the time commitment, location, and any requirements before committing

Step 3: Launch with the Liturgical Calendar

Lent provides natural momentum. Here's a suggested timeline:

Before Ash Wednesday (Now!)

• Announce the Lenten service initiative at all Masses
• Set up your coordination tool (bulletin board, sign-up sheet, or digital platform)
• Recruit ministry leaders to champion specific service areas

Week 1 of Lent (Feb 18-24)

• Open the needs board and invite parishioners to post
• Begin matching volunteers with their first service opportunities
• Share the initiative in the parish bulletin and email newsletter

Weeks 2-4 of Lent

• Feature a "Service Spotlight" in the bulletin — a brief (anonymous if preferred) story about how a parishioner was helped
• Continue matching and coordinating
• Host a mid-Lent check-in with ministry leaders

Holy Week (Mar 29 - Apr 5)

• Reflect on the community's service during Lent
• Invite participants to share what they learned (at a parish gathering, not on social media)
• Encourage the community to continue beyond Lent

Step 4: Protect Dignity and Privacy

One of the most important aspects of parish mutual aid is protecting the dignity of those who ask for help. Many parishioners — especially the elderly and those experiencing financial difficulty — feel shame about needing assistance.

Practical Privacy Measures

• Allow anonymous requests: Let people ask for help without their name being visible to the whole parish
• Use a trusted coordinator: Have one person or small team serve as the contact point for sensitive requests
• Digital privacy controls: If using a tool like NearPew, use the privacy settings that let requestors control who sees their need
• Follow up privately: Check in with those who received help through a private conversation, not a public announcement

Step 5: Sustain the Momentum Beyond Lent

The most successful Lenten service projects don't end on Easter Sunday. They become the foundation for year-round mutual aid.

• Keep the needs board open: Needs don't stop after Lent
• Celebrate volunteers: A simple "thank you" at Mass or in the bulletin goes a long way
• Evaluate and improve: After Easter, gather your ministry leaders and discuss what worked, what didn't, and what to do differently
• Build a culture of service: When parishioners see that asking for help is normal and giving help is easy, mutual aid becomes part of your parish culture

Getting Started

If your parish doesn't yet have a structured way to coordinate mutual aid, Lent is the perfect time to start. NearPew is a free platform designed specifically for Catholic parish communities — it lets parishioners post needs, offer help, and coordinate volunteers, all within the safety and trust of your parish family.

You can set up your parish on NearPew in about 2 minutes at nearpew.org. It's free, bilingual (English and Spanish), and encrypted to protect your parishioners' privacy.

Lent 2026 begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18. May this season of almsgiving be a time of deepened community and genuine service in your parish.

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References:

1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2462
2. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lent