Reaching Out in Love with Outreach

As we continue in the month of August, I have tried to reflect about my opportunity to be involved in a number of ministries at St. Anne’s. Like many parishes, St. Anne’s has a vital and powerful Parish Outreach that serves the local community of Brentwood – and what a service it is!

Outreach is a ministry that is unique to each parish, particularly on Long Island. Each community, like each family, has different needs and therefore requires different methods and ways to serve the community. As I’ve written before, the community of St. Anne’s is a generous and life-giving one. At the same time, there is great need here among a diversity of peoples.

Outreach here is presently coordinated by a strong, core group of volunteers. They operate every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to assist those who come to the door. Many times clients will come for the basic of needs – food for themselves and their family. Yet, that is only the beginning and often serves as “opening” to find out about additional needs and to learn about the ways the parish can help and assist them. No one comes and is simply pushed along to the food pantry. Rather, they are invited in, met with a sense of welcome and compassion and invited to share whatever concerns and needs they may have. This can range from assistance with immigration paperwork, a need for support in confronting situations of injustice or violence or helping those without shelter to find a place to stay for a night or two.

The volunteers here work so hard to respect the dignity of those who seek help and support. They have learned new languages to better communicate, discovered and provided connections to community resources and built up the spirit of each client. That’s important for in many cases it is so hard for someone to come forward and seek that support. How hard it is for any one of us to admit our vulnerability and need.

Serving those who come to St. Anne’s is only the beginning for these volunteers. They are also committed to advocating for those in the community. They attend many workshops and conferences to learn about ways they can better support their clients. They have joined local community organizations to make Brentwood a better place to live (here’s one example). And, perhaps most importantly, they invite, educate and form the entire parish community about the responsibility of each and every one of us to reach out to and assist the most vulnerable among us.