Serving With Mercy Across Our Diocese

Earlier this year, the Diocesan Office of Catechesis awarded 10 grants to parishes across the diocese for use in catechetical and service projects during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.

Following are reports from those parishes on their projects.

St. Benedict Parish, Evansville

Here at St. Benedict Cathedral we strive to touch the lives of all people….not just those in need.  From Birthright of Evansville, St. Vincent DePaul, House of Bread and Peace, Christian Life Center, St. Jude Hospital, Ozanam Family Shelter, all the way to “Undie Sunday” and more – this parish community strives to be a part of Mercy in Action each and every day. It is our desire to help every person know and understand the meaning of mercy and how we can be God’s helping hand and loving heart in all facets of our environment.  We have used the grant we received for the “Fill the Bowl Project” developed by religious education students in the seventh and eighth grades, and their teachers. We are reaching out to the Humane Society and Animal Control in Evansville community through “Fill the Bowl.”  This project is intended to help raise the awareness of the need to support the staffs of the local Humane Society and Animal Control who work to care for the lost, neglected or unwanted animals in the care of these two programs. There are other programs in our area that will benefit from the awareness being generated through our Fill the Bowl Project.  Not only will our efforts bring awareness, they will bring forth food, other necessary items and donations to care for the animals.

St. Mary Parish, Huntingburg

The Faith Renewal Committee of St. Mary Parish in Huntingburg used its Mercy in Action Grant from the Diocese of Evansville as “seed money;” and with the assistance of St. Vincent de Paul, we are providing services such as gift baskets to residents moving out of group homes and into apartments, visiting area nursing home residents to distribute blessed images of Divine Mercy, helping neighbors, such as mowing the lawn for residents in need, and we made tie blankets for Hospice during the “Get Out and Serve’ community-wide mission on September 11.  Our parish is grateful for the Mercy in Action Grant, which was the catalyst for these and other worthy endeavors to come.

St. Matthew Parish, Mount Vernon

During the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, St. Matthew Parish members participated in many events that opened our hearts and minds to the experience of mercy – and the need for each of us to act on behalf of those who require bodily and spiritual comfort from us.  

The Mercy in Action grant provided us financial assistance to help support many of our activities, and we are grateful for the Diocese’s support.

The special events in the Year of Mercy complemented and strengthened our Parish’s ongoing commitment to community outreach, which included our Hot Lunch Program, the work of our St. Vincent De Paul society, our annual dance for the local clients of the Posey County ARC community, and our support of the community food pantry.  

Many of our Parishioners feel that through our Parish’s Year of Mercy activities, we have become a community that better understands mercy as a divine gift that we are offered without limits or conditions, and that we are obliged to share with others.

Sts. Mary and John Parish, Evansville

Sts. Mary and John Parish used its Mercy in Action Grant to bring parishioners together from our two campuses, which merged in 2015. We also invited the entire Church of Southwestern Indiana to join us for a special evening, “Easter People on the Road to Mercy.” There were 70 attendees. The evening began with a potluck dinner and social time for our parishioners to get better acquainted. Our guest speaker was Jack Jezreel, Founder of Just Faith Ministries. He is a nationally known educator and speaker on peace and justice. Jezreel began his talk by praising Catholic Relief Services. He suggested that CRS may be one of the “best kept secrets” in the Catholic Church. There are so many who have received help through this service all over the world. The heart of his talk was based on the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching.

St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Dale

    St. Francis of Assisi Parish put mercy into action when a group of high school students and adults that gathered at CORE Nursing Home in Dale.  This “Mercy in Action Day” was conceived by a high school student who had been caroling with the parish last Christmas and noticed that CORE residents often do not have family close by or at all – and these people are the “least of these” in our own community.  She wanted to do something to share God’s love in this place.  We decided our Mercy in Action Grant was the perfect opportunity to reach out to the residents of CORE.  Our day included repairing and painting their outdoor sign, planting some new landscaping in the front and back of the home, and painting the outdoor shelter area where residents can go outside to get some fresh air.  The day was rich with joy as the beautiful weather allowed the residents to sit outside with us as we worked. Their appreciation and admiration of our work along with having the opportunity to visit and share stories brought home the value of the work we did – not only to beautify their space, but to show that they matter and are loved by God.  

St. Bernard Parish, Rockport

St. Bernard Parish in Rockport used its Mercy in Action Grant to purchase the “Called & Gifted” small group discernment process from the St. Catherine of Siena Institute, and formed a pilot group to see how this charism-discernment program could be used to help enrich the lives of members of our parish.  We will soon complete the first phase.  We will soon schedule our individual gift interviews.

When members of the pilot group were asked, “Where do you see us going from here?” some replied that they would like to continue with the study in more groups and thereby help more people “discover their gifts.” One thought it would be a good tool to use with older high school students in order to help them discern their vocation. We hope to help more people discover their charisms thereby helping to build the Kingdom of God in our parish and beyond.

St. Ferdinand Parish, Ferdinand

At St. Ferdinand Parish, we used the Mercy in Action grant primarily for our bereavement program. Discovering resources offered by Stephen Ministries, we’ve implemented the “Journeying through Grief” program, allowing us to stay connected to the bereaved throughout the first year of loss. Comforting the sorrowful being one of the spiritual gifts of mercy, this program helps those grieving through the many emotions experienced during this time. Some comments we’ve received on the material is that the booklets “describe exactly how I feel,” “it let me know I wasn’t crazy, and my feelings were a normal after my husband died,” “these books are very good and comforting.” These responses, all positive, strengthen our grief ministry. Also, using the grant, we are exploring additional Stephen Ministry resources to strengthen our corporal works of Mercy. We will be attending a Stephen Ministry program session this month in Greenwood Ind.

All Saints Parish, Evansville

As disciples in Evansville and our area, we live to show God’s mercy through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  We share God’s mercy with our neighbors. We will throw open the doors of our churches and go out into the streets to be with our neighbors. We will live the Works of Mercy. 

We are creating a calendar of Mercy in Action opportunities for the members of All Saints Parish.  Our high school youth began by making blankets for some of our neighbors who live in nursing homes. We hope to spend time visiting with and cooking for the residents of the Ronald McDonald House. We are looking forward to story and activity time with the children who are living in area shelters.We will be leaving books with the children to have for their very own.  We continue to develop our plans for living Mercy in Action!

St. Mary Parish, Ireland

To each of us is given certain talents – what we do with these talents is up to us.  This year our Confirmation students were given a grant for $500.00.  They were told to take this money and come up with some ideas on how to double it.  The youth worked in groups and found different ways they could increase the money given to them. They used the money to buy supplies to make Easter Eggs and sold 121 dozen Easter Eggs.  Others took their money and purchased baking ingredients and raised $517.00 by hosting a bake sale.  There were girls who used their sewing skills and designed head bands to be sold and yet others who used their crafty talents and made wall plaques out of nails and yarn.  The youth are not done yet – there is still a bench to be raffled off in the near future. The kids have chosen to donate the money to the local Habitat House and the Humane Society. 

Annunciation Parish, Evansville

Members of Annunciation Parish’s High School Youth Ministry used the grant money as well as parish donations to purchase toiletries, which we distributed to the local poor. The young people put the toiletries in bags and distributed them at the soup kitchen at All Saints Parish. One student said, “This experience was both humbling and beautiful in more ways than one. I had the chance to witness the ‘one’ and ‘universal’ part of being Catholic while benefitting our neighbors.” Another said, “I was grateful that we took the toiletries to where our neighbors in need are. We didn’t wait for them to come to us, we went to where they lived and gathered.” Another person noted, “Reaching out and greeting each person who came in was a new experience for me.  It’s likely they do not get this attention and care when they are in public.”  The young people who participated included Olivia Schnakenburg, Ariel Dietz, Mya Wynn, Havyn Bowan, Molly Church, Grace Martin, Leila Stratman, Samantha Pauli, Mary Kate Wesley, Matt Kiesel, Kate Brackett, Keller Oeth, Katie Vogel, Claire Vogel, Natalie Weisman, Katelyn Davis and Jessica Pauli.