Faithjustice

St. Anne Catholic Community Catholic Extension

     The St. Anne Catholic Community has generously assisted Catholic Extension funded projects with our Lenten Almsgiving for the past five years.  It has been a wonderful partnership—allowing people in our parish to learn about the essential work of Catholic Extension in the more than 90 “mission” dioceses in the United States and, at the same time, to provide resources that make possible a myriad of human development projects. This weekend, we look at the Diocese of Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Hurricane/Earthquake Recovery – Ponce, Puerto Rico

In 2017, Saint Anne kindly agreed to support the Hermanas Dominicas in the Diocese of Ponce, Puerto Rico.  The original plan was for St. Anne to build a Casa de Salud, or house of healing for the sisters in Ponce.

When the pandemic hit, the When the hurricane hit in September, Catholic Extension was following typical protocol and awaiting a final report from the Hermanas Dominicas before distributing the funds St. Anne donated.  The sisters were days away from hosting their largest annual fundraiser, an event that would have provided the funds needed to reach their own goals and thus open up the door for a grant by Catholic Extension.

Then the hurricanes hit. Because of the generous donation by St. Anne, Catholic Extension provided both counsel and funding to the Diocese of Ponce, in response to the horrible damage sustained after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

In December of 2017, St. Anne’s was featured in an article by CBS news. Cardinal Blase Cupich visited Puerto Rico to see the damage from Hurricane Maria first-hand, and to deliver a donation made by St. Anne’s through Catholic Extension.  The cardinal was meeting with storm victims on behalf of Pope Francis, who asked Cupich to visit the island.

Here are excerpts from the news article:

“Cupich visited Las Hermanas Dominicas de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Fátima in Mayaguez, and presented the nuns with a $40,000 check – donations raised by St. Anne Parish in Barrington. Just as important, he communicated to their parishioners a message from Pope Francis: they are not forgotten.

In the strongest of a series of earthquakes to plague the island of Puerto Rico, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the island on January 7, 2020 and terrified residents. In these moments of fear and uncertainty, Catholic faith communities came together for strength and comfort.

Along the Caribbean Sea in Guanica, the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima were huddled together near the epicenter, where their motherhouse is located. The sisters had to vacate their motherhouse because the building badly damaged by earthquake and afterskocks, and they were afraid it would collapse. They were living in tents outside the convent. Many of the elderly sisters were staying at a Diocesan center until it was secure to go back. A few of the sisters, including their Mother Superior, are living in small wooden homes outside the convent.  They were worried for the vulnerable elderly sisters at the convent and are asking people for their support and prayers as they begin to rebuild.

The Catholic Church continues to be a voice on behalf of the most vulnerable and poor who are the most impacted by the earthquakes and now the pandemic. In the heart of these poor communities, we find the presence of the Dominican Sisters. The charism of the Dominican Sisters is “to bring Christ to the family and the family to Christ.” During the pandemic, they continue to visit the sick, attend to the poor, evangelize children and minister in love to youth and adults alike. Congregations like these continued to serve on the “frontlines” in poor Puerto Rican communities. They work tirelessly to form relationships with local families and establish small networks among neighbors.

Even though the sisters are dealing with the loss of their home and a scattering of their community, they manifest the joy of the gospel. Even after decades of service, these women have much to offer. Their displacement has not slowed down their ministry one bit. They immerse themselves in the community so well that as the pandemic continues to cripple the island, they know exactly which families are in need of food, medical supplies, housing and other basic necessities.

Please join us in supporting the Dominican Sisters affected by the pandemic and last year’s earthquakes, on an island that is still recovering from the massive hurricanes that tore communities apart in 2017.

Let our brothers and sisters know that we stand with them in solidarity.  Information about how to donate is found on tags in the Gathering Space and online at Give Central.

St. Anne Catholic Community         Catholic Extension

The St. Anne Catholic Community has generously assisted Catholic Extension funded projects with our Lenten Almsgiving for the past five years.  It has been a wonderful partnership—allowing people in our parish to learn about the essential work of Catholic Extension in the more than 90 “mission” dioceses in the United States and, at the same time, to provide resources that make possible a myriad of human development projects. This weekend, we look at the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas.

Human Development Project (Proyecto Desarrollo Humano)

In 2018 St. Anne supported a thriving ministry in one of the poorest and most destitute areas of our country.  Penitas, Texas is located about 90 miles west of Brownsville, the fastest growing Catholic Diocese in the U.S.  

Three religious sisters – Sr. Carolyn Kosub, Sr. Emily Jocson, and Sr. Fatima Santiago (who spoke at St. Anne) – lead PDH, a community center dedicated to serving the impoverished people of Penitas and the surrounding area.  In the fifteen years since its founding, PDH today partners with universities, hospitals, and local organizations to serve the spiritual and material needs of the people.  There are four major areas of emphasis at PDH – health, social services, education, and spiritual formation. With the generous support of St. Anne Barrington, Catholic Extension was able to come alongside the sisters’ efforts.

When the pandemic hit, the men’s day labor jobs dried up. With now savings or safety nets, families turned to PDH for help in feeding their children, paying their rent, avoiding eviction, and maintaining their utility connections. They became channels of this direct aid, keeping nothing for themselves. With the shutdown, PDH discontinued all in-person services–but did notstop serving the people! PDH got creative, turning to the phone and social media. On the health front, they medical students. (Diabetes runs rampant in the community and there are many at grave risk with COVID.) Prescription refills were handled by phone. Large scale food distributions helped families to survive. The garden kept producing until the cold snap took out all but the hardiest vegetables. On the education front, PDH volunteers began virtual after-school tutorial sessions with 4 tutors working with a total of 27 students, 3 times per week for 2 hours each time; tutors and students became friends as they all worked to continue education in the absence of in-person classes at the schools.

COVID-19 is still raging in severely. But it is Catholic Extension supporters like Saint Anne who keep PDH utilities operating, help pay their staff, and enable them to remain a viable helping presence in the colonia throughout the pandemic. The pandemic has tested the dedication of everyone at PDH in finding ways to continue supporting the ministry among the Hispanic immigrant families. Each day continues to be a struggle to survive for their people, for the Sisters, and for the staff at PDH. Let our brothers and sisters know that we stand with them in solidarity.  Information about how to donate is found on tags in the Gathering Space and online at Give Central.

St. Anne Catholic Community         Catholic Extension

The St. Anne Catholic Community has generously assisted Catholic Extension funded projects with our Lenten Almsgiving for the past five years.  It has been a wonderful partnership—allowing people in our parish to learn about the essential work of Catholic Extension in the more than 90 “mission” dioceses in the United States and, at the same time, to provide resources that make possible a myriad of human development projects. This weekend, we look at the Diocese of Yakima, Washington.

Migrant Worker Ministry

Under the leadership of Bishop Joe Tyson, the Diocese of Yakima creatively ministers to the 100,000 laborers who make their way to the diocese each spring to harvest the crops of cherries, apples, and pears.  Temporary migrants arrive in June for the cherry-picking season. The work is labor-intensive, with laborers showing up at the fields at 4 a.m. daily. After the cherry season, some workers return home to other parts of the U.S. and some stay on to pick apples or pears.

During the harvest, most migrants stay in temporary camps, set up to house both individuals and families. Sixteen migrant camps are spread across the 18,000-square-mile diocese. With the workers’ demanding schedule and their lack of transportation, Bishop Tyson initiated a migrant ministry program to bring the Church to them. Masses are held in the fields, under a tent or tree, in the heart of the bustling migrant worker camp.  Mass in the fields is part of a broad effort to reach out to migrant workers where they live, and to bring the Church to them. With the help of the Saint Anne Catholic Community in Barrington, Bishop Tyson’s ministry reached thousands of hard-working families. These fantastic ministry moments – moments of extending a sense of humanity to those on the peripheries – were made possible by the generosity of St. Anne Catholic Community in 2016.  

    COVID-19 is still raging in severely under-resourced communities. The Diocese of Yakima, WA has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections on the west coast. Migrant farm communities do not have the luxury of sheltering in place. More than half the workers at one local grower tested positive for COVID. A priest in the Diocese, Fr. Alex Trejo, tested positive for the virus and was hospitalized for a month. Bishop Tyson and his parishioners reacted with calm and loving support. The migrant families in the Yakima Valley have been hurt badly by COVID-19. They are reeling from the economic, psychological, and spiritual effects of the virus. 

https://catholicextension.canto.com/b/S5IGJ

To Donate

Let our brothers and sisters know that stand with them in solidarity.  Alms will be collected through GIVE CENTRAL here (https://www.givecentral.org/location/177)

St. Anne Catholic Community         Catholic Extension

The St. Anne Catholic Community has been generously assisting Catholic Extension funded projects with our Lenten Almsgiving for the past five years.  It has been a wonderful partnership—allowing people in our parish to learn about the essential work of Catholic Extension in the more than 90 “mission” dioceses in the United States and, at the same time, one that has provided resources that make possible a myriad of human development projects. The other gratifying thing about working with Catholic Extension has been their commitment to see that we, a “donor parish,” stay connected with and informed about the projects we have funded and the lives that have been touched.

Since 2016, parishioners have given over $162,000 in almsgiving to Catholic Extension!  

We are truly grateful for the generosity of so many St. Anne households.  As you may recall, last year we had just started into a second year of Church building in Cuba. Then COVID hit and shut down our Almsgiving efforts. We took the money that we had begun receiving and asked Catholic Extension to use it as they saw best, believing that we would return to our Cuba project in 2021. 

Well, Lent is upon us and our efforts to build a church in Cuba have again been waylaid—still by COVID, but also by the lack of building supplies in Cuba. So, we asked a question of Catholic Extension: What has been the impact of COVID on the mission dioceses and the work we have helped support in the past?  CE’s staff responded with a wealth of information and helped us make our decision.  We will direct our 2021 Almsgiving to provide humanitarian aid and support to three of our past projects:

• Migrant Worker Ministry 
  Diocese of Yakima, Washington
• Human Development Project 
  Diocese of Brownsville, Texas
• Redevelopment After Hurricanes Harvey,
  Irma and Maria 
  Diocese of Ponce, Puerto Rico

We will hold off on the Cuba project until we can be more confident of the building materials supply chain to erect a Church for the St. Francis of Assisi community in Pinar del Rio, 

Over the next three weeks, we will bring to you updates on these past projects, focusing on the impact of COVID on the lives of people in these three dioceses and how additional funding will be put to work. Due to COVID all alms will be collected through GIVE CENTRAL, which can be accessed on the parish website. Just click on the DONATE tab.