OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
Parishioners from Leeward and Central Oahu parishes gathered recently for an “enrichment gathering” to talk story about their social ministries and to learn from each other. Our host parish was St. John Apostle and Evangelist in Mililani. The other churches were Our Lady of Sorrows, Wahiawa; Our Lady of Good Counsel, Pearl City; St. Elizabeth, Aiea; and Sacred Heart, Waianae.
The evening opened with an emotional and visually moving video about Christians in the inter-faith organization Samaritan’s Purse who reached out to children with cleft palates in the Sudan. The video illustrated what Pope Francis has been preaching in word and action — that we encounter Christ in a very special way when we minister with the most vulnerable.
The gathering affirmed that the experience of God revealed in the vulnerable is at the heart of parish social ministry. We explored how this experience provides parish social ministry with its special role in the diocesan pastoral plan, “Stewards of the Gospel.” We were reminded how the plan’s preamble calls for social ministry to be woven throughout the plan’s four strategic priorities.
Parishioners shared stories about encountering Christ in the vulnerable during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. A myriad of amazing examples came from food pantries serving hungry families, service providers ministering with the homeless and prison ministries to global solidarity efforts such as Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl. Many of the parishes ministered to two particularly vulnerable groups: frail elders and hungry children.
A young adult from Our Lady of Good Counsel told how she invited friends and relatives on her birthday — in lieu of a gift — to write and deliver personal notes to kupuna residing in a nearby nursing home. Another Pearl City parishioner, whose mother has Alzheimer’s disease, helps the parish reach out to families caring for loved ones living with this difficult illness.
Members of St. John and Our Lady of Sorrows parishes, some in their 70s and 80s, collaborate in their Kupuna Kokua Ministry working tirelessly to help other elders in subsidized senior housing pass their annual HUD inspection. Parishioners from Sacred Heart shared how their food ministry, with extensive outreach to the homeless and elderly on the Leeward coast, collaborates with the Knights of Columbus on Meals on Wheels.
St. Elizabeth parishioners provide backpacks with kid-friendly food to students at Aiea Elementary. St. John members gave backpacks for summer school students attending Kipapa Elementary and are exploring ways to continue the service into the new school year. Data from the state Department of Education show a significant number of hungry children in schools across our state, even in Mililani. These child hunger initiatives were found to be similar to backpack programs on Molokai and the Big Island.
Future parish social ministry enrichment gatherings are scheduled for July 20 on Windward Oahu, July 18 on Kauai and to be announced on the Big Island. For more information, contact Iwie Tamashiro at itamashiro@rcchawaii.org.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
