Funds Help Empower Local Parishes
By Pamela Maisano
For The Sooner Catholic

Monies donated by generous Catholics nationwide to Catholic Campaign for Human Develop-ment (CCHD) weekend collections are divided between the national CCHD projects and local Oklahoma parishes.  In Oklahoma, 25 percent of all monies collected here stays in the state, distributed among parishes which apply to the Commission for Justice and Human Development for project grants.                                                         The Little Jacket Learning Junction created by Saint Ann’s Parish in Okeene is According to Sister Diane             one of the programs assisted by the Catholic Campaign for Human Koorie,   CJHD chairwoman,              Development .
one of the best-kept secrets in Oklahoma is the power and energy given to individual parishes when they apply for local CJHD grants. “These grants allow parishes to connect with their communities to create programs that fulfill needs at home,” Sister Diane said. “These projects, created and implemented by parishes themselves, and programs which empower people in their own parish communities make life better, richer, more creative and fulfill the call to build God’s Kingdom at home.”

Christian Life Communities is the project title for a grant to Saint Eugene Catholic Church. The project develops communities of Christians which seek to “bear witness to human and Gospel values which affect the dignity of the person, the welfare of the family and the integrity of creation … being especially aware of the pressing need to work for justice through a preferential option for the poor and a simple lifestyle.” (CLC’s Mission Statement)  The project includes the seven-month Ignatian Retreat, continued community life, prayer support and community services.

Saint Charles Borromeo Church in Oklahoma City has been funded for their project, Scholarship for Immigrant Youth.  The project is aimed at providing financial encouragement for young immigrant parishioners to pursue college educations, a scholarship that acknowledges the changing face of the parish and the potential of these students to contribute to their communities.

The immediate goal is to help a young person go to college because education is an endeavor that empowers, fosters compassion and justice and breaks the cycle of poverty.  

Sacred Heart Church in Oklahoma City received a grant for the second year for their Mount Saint Mary’s Summer Academy, which is a transformative justice project to address root causes of poverty and crime in largely low-income Hispanic youth on the city’s south side.  The goal of the academy is to nurture self-esteem, develop leadership skills and foster the human dignity of youth who live in neighborhoods where gangs are active.  The Summer Academy served 40 youth during this summer, offering classes in religion and Spanish and offering field trips, classes in computer skills, crochet/knitting, woodwork/mechanics, social skills, finances and sports.

Saint Ann’s Church in Okeene received its second grant for Little Jacket Learning Junction (LJLJ), a newly established non-profit child development center.  LJLJ provides a comprehensive and compassionate response to the needs of the children in the Saint Ann’s community and their families by providing a learning-centered environment for daily care and promoting health and fitness opportunities for children.  This year’s grant allowed LJLJ to purchase a toddler table, needed to allow toddlers to eat and work at a table of appropriate height and safety for them.

With its CCHD grant, Saint Peter the Apostle Church in Guymon has instituted a Saint Vincent DePaul Society, allowing the parish to assist the poor who have already exhausted other means of meeting their needs.  This program attempts to let people know that they are not alone and that there is help for them in facing the trials they are enduring.  Workers in the program say the spiritual blessings are the most wonderful part of the project.  Being able to help by paying a bill or providing medicine is an indescribable feeling of spiritual and personal contact and of helping to allay the fear and anxiety of persons who have no food or are in fear of losing their homes.  

Other parish projects receiving 2006 grants are: Holy Trinity ESL Education Program for Adults (Okarche); Project Mother Teresa, Saint Joseph’s Parish (Ada); Saint Joseph’s Youth Group Service Saturday (Norman).