The Senior Citizens’ Cell of the Sacred Heart Church started functioning from the 19th of September, 1994. Initially, it had a small group of men and women, who came together to discuss and plan some activities for the benefit of the senior citizens of the Parish. They used to meet regularly, on the first Tuesday of every month.
The activities they conducted were geared to the spiritual, physical and social welfare of all the senior citizens of the Parish, such as facilitating the application for Senior Citizen I.D. cards, and organizing get-together events at Easter, Christmas and other liturgical feasts. Today, the Cell Core Group meets on the second Monday of every month, with about 10 to 12 members regularly attending the monthly meetings. The Core Group has a coordinator, a secretary and a treasurer as honorary office bearers. The Spiritual Director of the Cell guides the proceedings of the monthly meetings and also arrange for special recollection days or talks, or special Eucharistic celebrations on various occasions.
The monthly meetings of the Core Group begin with a prayer, scripture reading and reflection. After conducting the business on the agenda, each meeting ends with a prayer to the Holy Spirit.
The Core Group members organize pilgrimages to various churches in Mumbai and plan the annual Christmas get-together for all the senior citizens of the Parish. They occasionally visit senior citizens, who, owing to their advanced ages and physical disabilities, are house-bound. The inmates of The Home for the Aged have also been visited by some of our members.
“Mutually helping one another to age gracefully in the evening of our lives” is the motto of the Senior Citizens’ Cell of the Sacred Heart Church.