OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“I strongly encourage all to give generously to this CCHD collection as a way that members of the Catholic Church can proclaim the living Jesus Christ to the world and participate in building God’s Kingdom.”
– Bishop Larry Silva, November 2021 Campaign for Human Development letter to the diocese
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) national November collection. The CCHD collection helps bring people together to identify and address the obstacles they face to overcome persistent poverty and the catastrophic impact of the pandemic.
During this difficult COVID-19 time, in dioceses in Washington state, CCHD funds parish programs with Spanish-speaking pregnant migrant mothers and their farmworker families. In Missouri, the campaign funds parish programs that gather the community to deepen their shared values and work together for safe conditions in local food processing plants.
In Hawaii, CCHD collections have helped parishes collaborate with community efforts to keep kupuna and families fed along. It also assists homeless and formerly incarcerated women into housing and job training.
The collection contributes locally to the Honolulu diocese’s initiative, One ‘Ohana: Food and Housing for All. This ongoing statewide effort in Hawaii supports food pantry distributions, hot meal deliveries and keiki backpack programs, plus parish outreach ministries that provide clothing, blankets, and other basic necessities to homeless persons transitioning from the streets and shelters into permanent affordable housing.
The Campaign for Human Development requires that 25% of its national collection remain in the diocese where the funds are raised to support local projects.
The Nov. 24 national collection coincides with Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week throughout the United States. It is also connected with the annual November World Day of the Poor, which Pope Francis initiated in 2017 to inspire churches worldwide to meet the poor personally, wherever they may be.
“We cannot wait for the poor to knock on our door,” the pope said. “We need urgently to reach them in their homes, in hospitals and nursing homes, on the streets and in the dark corners where they sometimes hide, in shelters and reception centers. It is important to understand how they feel, what they are experiencing and what their hearts desire. The poor are present in our midst. How evangelical it would be if we could say with all truth: we too are poor, because only in this way will we truly be able to recognize them, to make them part of our lives and an instrument of our salvation.”
For more information on the Campaign for Human Development, Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week and One Ohana: Food and Housing for All here in Hawaii, please visit the Office for Social Ministry website www.officeforsocialministry.org. There you can also find the full text of Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of the Poor reminding everyone of the Gospel’s call to help our neighbors in need. This papal message reinforces why Bishop Silva strongly encourages all in the diocese to “give generously to the Nov. 24 collection as a way that members of the Catholic Church can proclaim the living Jesus Christ to the world and participate in building God’s Kingdom.”
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
