Ryan Prasad, left, and Bob Buckham, head of prison ministry for the Archdiocese of Vancouver, British Columbia, are pictured at Vancouver's St. Mary's Parish. (Photo courtesy of Bob Buckham/Catholic Charities Prison and Justice Services)
by Dan Morris-Young
Ryan Prasad has worked his way from drug addiction, homelessness and prison to a life of which to be proud. Undergirding his journey has been St. Mary's Parish in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the Vancouver Archdiocese's Catholic Charities' Prison and Justice Services. One of the significant healing steps took place at St. Mary's during a charismatic prayer service, Prasad says. St. Mary's fields a wide range of additional ministries including outreach to persons on the streets.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in San Diego has posted nice-word signs to reduce mini-road-rage in its parking lot. Each sign lists a virtue taken from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Parking lot traffic directors help, too.
A recent fusion of four Catholic communities, Holy Apostles Parish in South Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is focusing on outreach ministries including work with Alleghany Recover Krew and Serenity House Recovery Homes to support persons struggling with substance abuse.
From foot care and clothing to meals and movies, St. Andre Bessette Parish in downtown Portland, Oregon, makes outreach to those on the margins central to parish life.
Rodger, who lives under a bridge with his wife, points out a painful spot on his foot to nursing student Elise Realivasquez during the weekly foot-care ministry in the basement of St. Andre Bessette Church in downtown Portland, Oregon. (CNS/Catholic Sentinel/Katie Scott)
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Pastors, parishes and even the bishop of the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi, have been the targets of scammers using fake email addresses to entice parishioners to purchase gift cards alleged to be for them.
"Live simply so others can simply live" has been the life formula for Orville and Jane Duggan, members of St. Agnes Parish in Jefferson, Louisiana. That principle has also undergirded Orville's four decades serving the poor and sick through Catholic Charities of the New Orleans Archdiocese.
Fr. William Treacy (Dan Morris-Young)
Beloved pastor and interfaith dialog pioneer, Fr. William Treacy of the Seattle Archdiocese will mark his 100th birthday during May 26 festivities at Camp Korey in Mt. Vernon, Washington, formerly the site of Camp Brotherhood founded by Treacy and the late Rabbi Raphael Levine in 1968.* Born May 31, 1919, in Ireland, Treacy remains active in the Treacy Levine Center, which has launched a cable television program dedicated to interreligious and social justice issues. It is modeled after a long-running, prime-time TV series featuring Treacy and Levine as hosts in the 1960s and 1970s.
"Bags of Easter Gladness" were shared with residents of a nearby nursing home and rehabilitation center by members of St. Anthony Parish, Bartonville, Illinois.
[Dan Morris-Young is NCR West Coast correspondent.]
* The date of founding for the camp has been corrected.
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