Our Mission:
Believing that we cannot proclaim a gospel we do not live, we dedicate our activities to promoting the welfare of those in need of comfort, shelter and food and, through education and action, to working for justice and peace.
 
CIA Prayer:
Dear Lord, you are the light that brings us together. We thank you for the gifts that you have given each of us to do your work. Help us to remember our blessings and to recognize the needs of your people. Grant that our minds and hearts are open to your will and give us the wisdom to know how we can serve you. In the spirit of St. Clare, may we respond with charity and love. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
 
Meetings:
CIA members (below) invite you to join us as we meet the second Tuesday of each month, from 7:30-9 p.m. Contact Marla at 281-480-1231 or Roberta at 281-486-9673 for information.

Projects/Events through December:
The local CWS/CROP Hunger Walk will be held Oct. 21. St. Clare parishioners typically have a strong presence at the walk, which raises funds to fight hunger locally and globally. You can help by walking or donating. A few weeks before the walk, sign-up volunteers will be in the narthex after masses and the weekend Bulletin will have directions on how to give online. For more information, contact Gordon at 281-461-6982. See you there!

Two parish-wide Thanksgiving Projects help feed the poor. The projects will begin with CIA volunteers handing out grocery lists and signing up family sponsors in the narthex after all masses Oct. 13-14. Parishioners will be able to adopt needy local families, ranging in size from small (3-4 members) to large (8+ members) in the Thanksgiving Adopt-a-Family Project. Food for this project should be boxed, marked with the recipient family name and number, and turned in at the St. Clare Conference Center by noon on Saturday, Nov. 10. Food may be dropped off earlier near the CIA Food Collection Box in the hallway to the Conference Center. Donations for the second project, the Thanksgiving Food Drive, will be shared by St. Pius V Catholic Church and Casa Juan Diego food pantries. Please drop off donations at the CIA Food Collection Box; or, you may bring them directly to the Conference Center from 9-11 a.m., Nov. 10-11. For information, call Joanne at 281-488-3393 (Adopt-a-Family Project) or Marla at 281-480-1231 (Food Drive.) Your generous donations go to feed Houston's hungry. Thanks for your participation.

The Spirit of Christmas Project helps you share Christmas blessings with the underprivileged from two organizations. The Houston Area Salvation Army gives us the names of 75 children and 25 senior citizens, all from poverty-level homes. If you’d like to help, you could fill the needs of basic clothing items and a special wish from one of those listed. Families in our second agency, Casa Juan Diego (CJD), struggle without proper subsistence. CJD helps with basics—food, shelter and medical care. You can make Christmas special by giving gifts many of us consider ordinary. Jackets, blankets, underwear, and space heaters can make all the difference to these poor families. CIA members will be in the narthex the weekends of Nov. 3-4 and 10-11, with information on how you can participate. Gifts are due Nov. 25. For information, contact Debbie at 832-284-4920 (Salvation Army) or Karen/Gordon at 281-486-4403 (CJD.) (A very early) Merry Christmas to you!

Ongoing Support:
Did you know your contributions to CIA’s monthly envelope (Aid to the Poor and Needy) pay for nearly all of CIA’s financial outreach assistance to the needy?  CIA receives donations from two grocery store programs (see below) and St. Clare’s Knights of Columbus, but no additional funding comes from the church for outreach aid.  The amount that you decide to include in your envelope the fourth weekend of each month is what helps the local needy who come to us with immediate, critical, short-term needs--like assistance with rent or utility bills. Typically, CIA spends about $3,500-$4,500 each month, to help 20-30 families. We appreciate your generosity. After all, donations from St. Clare parishioners keep Christians in Action “in action.”

Enroll in these community programs to benefit CIA assistance efforts each time you shop.
In the Kroger Community Rewards program, link your Kroger card to CIA's number, 82156. Log on at www.Kroger.com to register. Link your Randalls Remarkable Card to CIA's number, 8313. Apply at any Randalls Customer Service Desk. For both programs, your enrollment remains unless you change it. If you need help, please call Yvette at 281-480-1330.

Fall Accomplishments:
Thanks for making the School Supplies Drive such a success. Through your generosity, we were able to donate 40 boxes of supplies to help poor and needy children at two area Catholic schools: Queen of Peace and St. Pius V.

Thanks again.