COURTESY PHOTO

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Clermont County Homeless Shelter was held in April. SALT, the joint parish social action commission for St. Andrew/St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishes in Milford, took an active part in soliticing funds for construction by writing letters to the churches of Clermont County. The shelter will serve the homeless, giving them a "hand up" until they can find a place to live and a job if needed. Members of SALT are pictured with the executive director and coordinator of Clermont County Community Services, a non-profit agency that manages the shelter.

Faithful Citizenship: Parishes reach out to those in need

The option for the poor and vulnerable is demonstrated in myriad ways

By David Eck and Eileen Connelly, OSU

ARCHDIOCESE — Three parishes that comprise a single pastoral region are reaching out to those in need both in the parishes and in the community as a whole.

The parishes, Corpus Christi, Queen of Martyrs and Our Lady of Mercy in Dayton, have separate St. Vincent de Paul conferences serving those in need locally.

"The challenge is for them to be able to help with the increasing calls that we have," said Pam Long, lay ecclesial minister of evangelization for the parishes. "We get many, many calls for assistance."

In addition, Our Lady of Mercy and Corpus Christi support Assumption Food Pantry, while Queen of Martyrs assists the Northeast Food Pantry, which is operated by s group outside the parish.

In another unique project, Our Lady of Mercy helps match parishioners who have used appliances and furniture with those who need such items. Basically, parishioners who have items to give away call the parish, which tries to arrange a match.

"It’s a free clearinghouse," Long said. "The person who receives it is asked to come with friends who have a truck and be able to move it. The idea is to keep as simple and as free as possible."

The pastoral region is also active in bringing the Eucharist to Catholics at Riverside Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. Parishioners take holy Communion to the nursing home three weeks a month, and the pastoral region has Mass at the center monthly. A parishioner who lives at Mercy Siena Retirement Community also takes Holy Communion there after daily morning Mass.

The parishes have also worked on homelessness in the area through the Weavers of Justice coalition and have had visitors speak on the issue, taken a stand against the death penalty, have been active in fighting payday loans, and are active in Leaders for Equality and Action in Dayton, an interfaith group.

"It’s really a wonderful thing where people are looking out for one another in a variety of ways," Long said.

In order to help those directly in their local faith community, a new program will help parishioners who need a ride to Sunday Mass get there. The pastoral region is making plans to rent a Chaminade-Julienne High School bus to provide transportation to Mass. Parishioners have been trying to give rides to those who need it, but logistics made it difficult, Long said.

Some of those parishioners in need of transportation have been immigrants, including a number of Sudanese families who have moved into the community.

"We have to use whatever we can to help them participate in the Eucharist," Long said. "That often is what sustained them when they were fleeing their country or were in exile waiting for immigration to the United States."

It’s important to evangelize people who really want to go to Mass, she said, adding the elderly parishioners can also take advantage of the transportation.

"That’s another way that we show a preferential option for the poor," Long said. "People come to understand the very basic needs of folks that are currently in their midst and what they faced in another part of the world. It brings home the sense of global solidarity."

The members of St. Andrew and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parishes in Milford have found a meaningful way to collaborate and put their faith into practice through their joint Social Action Leadership Team (SALT).

According to Jerry Braun of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, SALT was formed after members of both parishes took part in Just Faith, an in-depth adult faith formation program designed to deepen understanding of and commitment to the Gospel’s call to build a more just society.

"We wanted to do something with the knowledge and background we gained from Just Faith, so we decided to form SALT and develop other activities related to social action," Braun explained. "Both our parishes had traditionally been involved in providing direct assistance in charity type things, such as helping with food, rent and utilities through St. Vincent de Paul, but little was being done on the justice side and we felt it was time to become active in justice issues at the local, regional, national and international levels."

SALT’s commitment to working for justice is reflected in its mission statement, which reads, "In response to our baptismal call to share in the mission of Jesus Christ, we strive to empower our parishes of St. Andrew and St. Elizabeth Seton to develop a greater awareness of and participation in the social dimension of the church. To this end, we work in solidarity on behalf of the poor and vulnerable to bring about a more just, hope-filled, and compassionate society."

Among SALT’s goals is providing direct service to individuals, families or groups in need, especially those whose need is the result of structural injustice. SALT has developed a resource guide describing the agencies in Clermont County that support the poor and the vulnerable. Other examples include SALT’s support for the construction of new homeless shelter in Clermont County, along with rallying other area churches to donate. Now under construction, the shelter is expected to be completed in the fall. SALT is also working with the Interfaith Hospitality Network, a response to homelessness that combines religious congregations with full-time professionals to reintegrate families into the community.

Another of SALT’s goals is to engage in and promote activities directed toward the change of unjust social problems. The group has sponsored educational activities on social justice issues and written advocacy letters to legislators. In conjunction with the archdiocesan Catholic Social Action Office, Social Action Commission and the Greater Cincinnati Parish Collaborative, SALT is holding "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility" hosted by Father Rob Waller, pastor of St. Andrew Parish, on July 12.

SALT is working for justice through the administration of its Empowerment Fund as well. According to Barbara Aluotto, director of religious education at St. Andrew Parish, the faith community, which supports the fund through a monthly collection, is "very generous with its support."

Nominations for grant recipients generally come from the SALT team, she said. The grants are designed to address the issue of poverty in two ways, Aluotto explained, by empowering a group or individual to break the cycle of poverty and raising awareness of the devastation of poverty and its roots. Grants from the Empowerment Fund have provided assistance at the local, national and international levels. One grant enabled an area man on a limited income to repair his tractor so he could continue to make a living. Another provided assistance for the House of Peace, an emergency shelter for female victims of domestic violence and their children.

The Empowerment Fund has also provided micro loans to small businesses in other countries, enabling the working poor to make strides toward economic independence. In addition, the fund has supported the ministry of a missionary in Africa and supplied computers for a school in Guatemala.