By: Jay Sorgi
Saint Francis of Assisi Parish is bringing several charitable efforts for families under one groundbreaking roof
A collection of Catholic charitable stalwarts in the East Bay community are coming together in a first-of-its-kind collaboration in the Diocese of Oakland.
Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Concord, as part of a collaboration with Walking With Moms in Need, is offering one regional location for mothers to find help from numerous organizations along with their own efforts within the Gabriel Project.
“That’s a really amazing testament to the fact that as Catholics, we try to live a life of public service,” says Concord Mayor Carlyn Obringer, a practicing Catholic.
“What you were doing here by opening this space and helping women and families in need is helping to establish a strong foundation for our future. You are giving someone a helping hand, a family a helping hand, and strengthening our community as well.”
Church leaders at the diocese and parish level each see the Holy Spirit at work, meeting both the needs of innovation and social responsibility.
“This is the first one in the diocese with this style of bringing all these resources in one place,” said Kiona Medina, diocesan coordinator of Life and Justice Ministries.
“These organizations have existed forever, but bringing them together under one roof is what’s innovative and historical for us.”
“There’s a passage in the Gospel of Saint Luke where there’s a king who goes out of town and gives his workers a coin, (then) asks them, ‘What have you done with the money I gave you? What’s your investment?’ So we’re actually trying to do that,” said Gabriel Project Parish Coordinator Carlos Balladares.
“We’re trying to invest what the Lord gave us and bring some hope to many people, especially mothers in need.”
The innovative effort came from a brainstorm shared between Medina, Balladares and others, including Father Lawrence D’Anjou, the pastor at nearby Saint Bonaventure Catholic Community, also in Concord.
“We gathered a year and a half ago for the first time, all sharing the similar vision of having a physical place where moms can receive support. Father Lawrence even gave the statement out loud, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had buildings like that all over the diocese, all over the region?’” Medina mentioned.
“We kind of had the same vision of having a hub somewhere where we could serve moms and bring services to them instead of them going to the services,” said Balladares. “The idea was to find a place where we could bring the services to them here once a month at least, or once a week.”
Partners include Catholic Charities East Bay, Pope Francis Legal Clinic, Birthright and medical clinics.
Organizers are also working to include Saint Vincent de Paul within their one-stop charitable hub for mothers. Their goal is to put all these charities, with services ranging from diaper donations and legal representation to rental assistance, within the parish’s Rossi House, which will be modernized.
The legal clinic is bringing many of the mothers an extra piece of support at a time of fear due to the immigration crisis.
“Many of our moms are undocumented, so they’re in need of a lot of support,” said Balladares.
Their plan is to open on Wednesdays from 9 a.m.-noon and on Saturdays.
This unique game plan for helping mothers is designed to bring a holistic approach to pro-life ministry, helping mothers feel accompanied by both practical resources and interpersonal presence in the parenting journey, so that they choose life for their child.
“When we all agreed that we wanted to focus on mothers and mothers in need, we realized that nobody else was doing that,” said Balladares. “In the world of social justice and social services, everybody is addressing homelessness, immigration, rent and all sorts of needs for adults and families, but nobody’s focusing on their pregnant mom,” he said.
“We wanted to go there to address that specific need. These other things that help the entire community also happen to be available for the mom in need that is in connection to the ministry, so everybody wins.”
“When lay people checked in with a mom who was pregnant, young and didn’t have food or rent or access to mental health, she would choose to abort because of all those circumstances, so then the lay minister realized we have to provide rent, food and mental health in order for this mom to choose life,” Medina adds. “But more than the resources is the accompaniment that she feels held in community, that she feels that she belongs.”
Balladares and Medina are jointly calling for more volunteer presence and donations to help reach more families that can use the kind of community assistance that showcases God’s love to others.
“The moment that we see a mom in a baby shower organized by the community, or the moment that the students give boxes to the moms and they meet them and hear their stories, there’s something so sacramental about it. That’s when theology comes into the tangible realm for us and we become one with each other,” Medina says.
“It is in this communal effort that the body of Christ really comes alive.”