| Dear Fellow Parishioners, I have been using this space to address the five “best practices” for revitalizing the Catholic Community as presented in Everyone Leads by Chris Lowney. I have reviewed the first two, the ways we are entrepreneurial and strive to be accountable here at Sacred Heart. This week, I will talk about how we “serve the poor and marginalized.” The Gospel calls us to serve the poor and the marginalized. Our twenty-first century Catholic Community will differentiate itself by the level of our countercultural commitment of seeking justice for all who are poor, marginalized, or excluded amidst a society rampant with individualism and consumerism. Chris Lowney points out that “a whopping 91% of young adults surveyed saw “helping the poor” as crucial to Catholicism; that was a substantially higher percentage than for older Catholics.) p. 131 Our Catholic Community here at Sacred Heart offers many opportunities to serve the poor: Cooking and donating food to the Food Pantry, Mustard Seed and Trinity Suppers, donating to and working in the Thrift Shop, donations to and raising awareness for our sister parish St. Gerard’s in Haiti, helping the local needy through St. Vincent de Paul, collecting/donating food through Fill-a-Ford, and “Trick-or-Treat-so others can eat”. These are just some of the ways we as a Catholic Community assist the poor and marginalized as well as the many individuals who serve beyond our parish community. The Gospel calls us to welcome the stranger. Sometimes people feel excluded because of sexual orientation, marital status, ethnicity, religious beliefs, social status, or gender. Sometimes they feel judged, or are simply excluded because communities don’t know how to be inclusive. We cannot be an exclusive catholic community in Hopedale. We must always strive to live fully the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and work together and making all peoples feel welcome in our community. Our mission is to be welcoming to every child of God. I am open to wisdom and energy from our Catholic Community here at Sacred Heart as to ways we can beef up the ways we serve the poor and the marginalized. Who are the marginalized? Who are the poor? Who are excluded? Are we eager to serve? Are we welcoming to everyone? Can we work together at this and be faithful to the Gospel? Fr. Bill |