Our Lady of Mount Carmel serves the cities and communities on the Peninsula, firmly centered on the Eucharist and love of our Catholic faith.  Parishioners grab on to the parish mission – We find Christ here. We bring Christ to the world – first by having a powerful encounter of Jesus in the Eucharist through Holy Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and then by seeking to live the corporal works of mercy in the world.  With a longstanding partnership with Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, the parishioners of OLMC are always open to finding new ways to bring the love of Christ to those most in need.

Parish Outreach

OLMC Parish Outreach is a fully staffed resource to the poor and vulnerable living in Newport News.  Each guest who approaches the parish outreach program is greeted and interviewed personally, while trained ministers get to know their individual situation and how the parish can help in both the immediate and long-term.  An expansive parish food pantry serves to give immediate food assistance for families in need of groceries or other supplies to provide for themselves and their household.  The food pantry is stocked primarily from donations of parishioners, who fill large bins each Sunday before and after Mass in the Church narthex. During the 2020 holiday season, the parish supported over 80 families from Catholic Charities with food baskets and Christmas gifts. 

The Pregnancy Outreach program is the parish’s pro-life effort to meet vulnerable women in unexpected pregnancies and help them choose life for their child.  Pregnancy Outreach provides adoption counseling, referrals for pre-natal care, and provides essential needs for newborns and infants, including layettes, formula, diapers, and partnership to walk with new moms and dads in their early stages of raising their child.  Authentically preaching the dignity of the life of every child allows OLMC to be a viable alternative to abortion, and see the joy of every child created in God’s image.

The mission of OLMC to take Christ to the world extends to the parish’s support of missionaries outside the parish boundaries.  The parish supports several parishioners who do mission work with college students, the homeless, and in chastity education.  Supporting our Catholic family at the Saint John Paul II Center for Evangelization in Haiti is a way for parishioners to engage more globally.  Locally, the parish offers an annual outreach to the Newport News Police Department, to show appreciation and support to our local law enforcement.

Youth Thrive at OLMC

The children and youth of OLMC find the Catholic Church a joyful, faith-filled place to grow.  OLMC Catholic School on the parish campus partners with the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia to provide a solidly Catholic program of formation and education.  Our students learn the depths of the God’s love in their search for truth, beauty, and goodness.  The school is staffed by dedicated Dominican sisters and lay teachers who bring the students to know God’s love and the power of Christ and His Catholic Church as the first mission.  A robust CCD program serves the needs of younger parish children who are not a part of the parish school. 

In the middle and high school years, OLMC serves the youth of the parish through the Edge and Life Teen programs, which offer a relational based model of ministry.  A CORE team of young adults serve the teams by entering into their lives and walking with them to learn the essential truths of the Church and helping them encounter Christ through the Sacraments.

Young adult ministry serves many of the young professionals and military in our community, providing fellowship, worship, and service.  OLMC also supports the campus ministry at Christopher Newport University, including providing weekly Mass and regular Confessions for the students finding their home on the CNU campus.

Formation that is Life Long

With a large parish, Our Lady of Mount Carmel meets the needs of the parishioners to grow in their faith at every age.  Special programs for Bible Study, RCIA, and faith formation are offered every day of the week at OLMC.  Over 20 parish small groups provide for in-home community building, bringing people together as they grow in the faith.  That Man is You for men and Walking with Purpose provide specific formation according to sex, a tailored RCIA program with additional opportunities for those returning to the faith are offered.  The SPRED program meets the needs of the parishioners with intellectual or physical challenges, allowing them a place to explore and understand our faith.  Hispanic ministries meet the needs of Spanish speaking parishioners with retreats, charismatic prayer, and ongoing Bible study and faith formation.

Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia wants to say a huge thank you to Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish for their service to the Peninsula. Their work and faith truly inspires hope and changes lives and we are proud to work in tandem to uphold the dignity of families in our community.