"To the ends of the Earth: Living the Joy of the Gospel"
Ministry of Mercy Morning of Reflection 
and Meal Packing Event 

                                                        Saturday, February 6th

9:00 am Sign in

Event~ 9:30 am- approximately 2:30 PM

"Poverty calls us to sow hope...Poverty is the flesh of the poor Jesus, in that child who is hungry, in the one who is sick, in those unjust social structure."
(Pope Francis, Meeting with Students of Jesuit High Schools, 6/7/13)

Join us for a morning of reflection on global hunger and the Catholic response. Our morning will lead into a hands-on event of packing meals for BurkinaFaso, a country in West Africa whose name means "land of the people of integrity." Due to climate change and drought, Burkina Faso remains one of the poorest countries in the world.

The Helping Hands program sends food and also provides long-term solutions to  various institutions and organizations in Burkina Faso. Catholic Relief Services addresses the root causes of hunger through programming in agricultre, livestock-raising and trade development.

The morning of reflection will be followed by a simple lunch including the opportunity to taste the meals being packed. Further information about Burkina Faso and the opportunity to pack meals will take place after lunch.

Pinellas Hope is making this event possible by generously offering thier space. Pinellas Hope is a shelter ministry of Catholic Charities, Diocese of St. Petersburg: www.pinellashope.org. Registrants will also have the opportuntity to tour the facility.

 The $10 registration fee will cover the cost of lunch and program expenses. No one will be turned away for inability to pay the registration fee. Additional donations will allow us to pack and ship more meals to Burkina Faso.

Learn more about Helping Hands events by watching some of the videos here.

Morning Session Speakers: 

Morning Sessions:

Nicole Eloisa Leitzelar Galeano,Human Resources Coordinator,CRS Honduras
CRS Honduras works with local partners to meet the diverse needs of the country’s most vulnerable people. For example, the Food for Education project improves the literacy of school-age children by providing student meals and materials, and training for teachers and community members. It also works to improve school infrastructure.
Nicole enjoys going into the field to recruit technical staff and assist CRS partners.  “Working for CRS makes me proud,” says Nicole. “Our work in Honduras has helped thousands of children and families. CRS provides tools and knowledge so that people can help their communities and our country grow. That is what makes my work worthwhile.”
Nicole Leitzelar, a native of Honduras, joined Catholic Relief Services in 2014 as a human resources coordinator in Tegucigalpa. She recruits managers and technical staff to support a wide range of projects—from emergency relief to agricultural development to children’s education.
Honduras is the second-poorest country in Central America; more than 66 percent of its people live below the poverty line. Nicole will share stories about people and families whose lives and futures have been greatly improved by CRS programs.

Poverty Around Us
Deacon Fred Kunder, Catholic Relief Services Global Fellow
St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Clearwater
Deacon Fred will offer a personal perspective on the povery that he has seen in our own country and around the world. Participants will learn what Catholic Relief Services is doing to eliminate or solve the crisis of poverty and gain insights into what they can do to be a part of the solution.

Domestic Poverty and Our Call to Social Justice
Lily King, Adjunct Professor at St. Leo University
We live in the wealthiest nation in the world, yet over 50 million Americans suffer from poverty. An astonishing 1 in 5 of these are children. How do we respond to such startling realities? More specifically, how does our Catholic faith call us to respond? Most of our parishes are excellet at tending to the needs  of the less fortunate through charitable works. We have food and clothing drives and volunteer at homeless shelters, but will these acts of charity ever rsolve the problem of poverty or do they simply tend to its symptoms? Our Catholic faith requires us not only to provide for the immediate needs of the poor, but to advocate on their behalf - to treat the root causes of poverty with the hopes of transforming the very world in which we live.