St. Anne Catholic Community
Catholic Extension
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.
Recycle All Old & Obsolete Cell Phones
- Help the Elgin Community Crisis Center convert old phones into cash and offset higher utility costs in their shelter, which houses victims of domestic violence from surrounding communities.
- Keep cell phones out of landfills where they pose an environmental threat.
Most of us are just getting the hang of our cell phone features when the technology rudely catapults us forward. Most of the changes have been for the better...Remember the seven lb. bag phones...! But what do you do with the drawer in your house that serves as a graveyard for obsolete cell phones?
About Shelter Alliance
Shelter Alliance is a program of GRC Wireless Recycling (www. grcrecycling.com), a private sector company dedicated exclusively to socially responsible cell phone recycling. With over 2000 active participants in 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico, Shelter Alliance is now the largest cell phone recycling program in the U.S. SA participants have earned over $4,000,000 since 2001.
When we began our mission in 2001, we discovered that cell phone “fundraising” revenue was primarily funneled to national nonprofits, often leaving local organizations without their due share. Additionally, we found that large surpluses of phones often resulted from “911 emergency phone collections,” leaving social service organizations with offices full of phones and no responsible recycling solution. Shelter Alliance was established to offer local community organizations a viable, profitable fundraising option. Four years later, we still hold true to our “founding principles”: accountability, individualized attention to each participant, and responsiveness.
During January, Faithjustice offers you a possible solution: RECYCLE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES. Put your phones with their batteries in the baskets on the hearth in the Gathering Space. Please do not include accessories or adaptors and, if you are able, delete all phone numbers. Your old and obsolete cell phones will be turned over to Shelter Alliance who will refurbish, resell or recycle your discards.
All proceeds from this effort will benefit the Community Crisis Center, a shelter in Elgin, IL, serving the survivors of domestic violence, including women and children from our own area. The Center receives anywhere from $1 to $30 per viable phone. The more current the phone the better!
Your donation also serves environmental efforts to keep electronic equipment and batteries out of local landfills. Old cell phones are disassembled and parts salvaged using eco-friendly methods.