A Family Together, A Promise Kept
This past week, for the third time, we joined together as a community to host a working homeless family as part of our Family Promise ministry. Led by our pastor, fr. Dan, we opened the doors of our facility and welcomed a beautiful family, a mother and her two young sons, in the process of getting back on their feet.
Elliot Guerra
Thank you all for your spiritual and financial support as well as the hard hours of serving meals, cleaning, running around with kids and staying overnight, sleeping on cots in classrooms. You, our beloved parishioners, are once again what makes OLMC such a special place to be and, if I can be so bold, I think our guests felt that way too.
We will never know the impact we have on other people’s lives, but I know that for one week, a family, under nearly unbearable circumstances, was held together. The promise that “all are welcome at OLMC,” no matter what, was kept.
I was particularly touched to see so many teens and young children serving alongside their parents. Catholic service is truly a family affair at OLMC! A favorite moment from the week—our multi-generational and diverse volunteers were all eating at communal tables and a newly arrived volunteer didn’t know which was the family we were hosting this week. This goes to show with what amount of equality and dignity we serve others here at OLMC! A close second memory is the water games we all played on these hot summer nights!
What a journey it has been to get to this moment, not to mention what that journey must have been for our guests.
Once again, I was touched, but not surprised, by the outpouring of love from all of you. As soon as we began this project, fr. Dan was the first to take a sleeping shift; my inbox began to blink with new messages like “we’re on vacation, but what can I have delivered to you?” Bags of donations began to litter my office as personal checks and gift cards from secretaries and retirees appeared on my desk.
Your sweat, prayers and laughs made it happen. All for Christ! It was a moving, exhausting and really fun week at OLMC. Thank you, thank you, and thank you again. Until the next adventure!
I’ll be seeing you,
Elliot Guerra