The Catholic Community of Sacred Heart is hosting the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. It will be held this Wednesday January 16th at 7:00 P.M in the church followed by refreshments in the parish center at 8:00 P.M. This is a joint venture of the Hopedale School Community and the local parish communities. At this event we present the “Power of One Award” recognizing an individual, family, committee or group for an extraordinary contribution in the area of community improvement or social justice during the past 5 years.
This year we are honoring one of our own parishioners, Mrs. Jean Bonetti. I encourage all to come and celebrate Dr. King and Jean for her contributions to the community at large.
Jean has touched the lives of countless people throughout Hopedale, the Blackstone Valley region and beyond with her tireless work on behalf of the poor and marginalized. Jean is the coordinator of the Ministry of Care, bringing Communion to many of our homebound parishioners each Sunday morning making sure that they feel that they are important and not forgotten.
For many years, Jean has been a driving force behind the success of the Red Cross blood drives that are held locally. Jean not only volunteers at each blood drive, but also enlists all the other volunteers so that blood drives are successful. In addition to the blood drives that impact many beyond the Hopedale community, Jean also is instrumental in the success of the monthly Trinity Suppers held at the Trinity Church in Milford.
As a Stephen Ministry leader, it is her job to train other Stephen ministers so that people who are struggling have a caring ear to listen to their stories. She ensures that those who are hurting are paired with the proper person so that they are cared for properly. This ministry impacts not only those who are struggling, but their families and the communities in which they live.
Jean certainly exemplifies the attributes of MLK and how “The Power of One” individual can make a difference in our community. Let’s join together in the community-wide celebration as we encourage her and so many others to make a difference in our community life.