In Placer County, two parish communities help lead an interfaith program supporting The Gathering Inn, a homeless shelter shared by churches who bring hundreds of people in from the cold.

At St. James Parish in Davis, social service ministries addressing local and global concerns are an integral part of the daily lives of parishioners.

And for one northeast Sacramento parish, social service has become a full-time commitment.

Mercy Sister Susan McCarthy, director for implementation of the 2004 Diocesan Synod, is encouraging all parishes to develop similar integrated models of social service and social justice ministry.

“What we’re looking for is the parish that has social justice and social ministry of the Gospel mandate as a prism through which they look at all aspects of parish life,” she said. “Social justice is mainstreamed into the life of the parish and has significant numbers of parishioners engaged.”

The synod’s Pastoral Initiative 7 on social service and social justice ministry calls for the development in every parish of an integrated model of social ministry which makes known and accessible the principles and values of Catholic social teaching. Parishioners should be assisted to act on these principles in four complementary areas: charity and outreach, legislative advocacy, global solidarity and community organizing and development.

Elizabeth White, associate director of the diocese’s social service ministry, said the thrust of Pastoral Initiative 7 came from the model of social ministry proposed by the U.S. bishops in their 1994 document, “Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish.”

“There is a lot of good work going on in our parishes and almost all are points of contact for people in need,” she said. “Some parishes are actually doing the whole picture of social ministry.”

Two of these parishes are Saints Peter and Paul in Rocklin and St. Rose of Lima in Roseville.

Deacon Bill Boudier of St. Rose Parish is one of the founders of The Gathering Inn, a nomadic homeless shelter provided by several Placer County churches for a growing homeless population.

A key player from the start of the project, Deacon Boudier spoke of the vision of The Gathering Inn.

“We were about getting people together to help other people, integrating our faith,” he said. “It gives meaning to what people do when they go to church.”

Denise Sewart, president of The Gathering Inn and chairwoman of the Social Justice Advocates of Placer County, is a member of Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Rocklin.

Sewart partnered every step of the way with Deacon Boudier in launching The Gathering Inn and has watched it empower members of both Saints Peter and Paul and St. Rose parishes.

More than 100 parishioners from each of the churches are involved in the program.

Members of the choir, altar society and women’s groups from both parishes work as volunteers, cooking meals and serving guests when they are the host parish.

“We have so many volunteers they almost have to wait their turn,” Sewart said. “People understand it is in keeping with their faith and is what building their faith is all about.”

Sewart added that a key component ensuring the success of The Gathering Inn is the fact that priests at both parishes have been very supportive of the homeless program.

Another parish modeling social justice as proposed in Pastoral Initiative 7 is St. James Parish in Davis.

The parish’s gospel justice committee operates the St. Nicholas Giving Tree program supporting local families and individuals in need and a community gift program in which weekly collections at Mass assist charities nominated by parishioners. The parish also supports a local interfaith homeless ministry, and supplies volunteers and financial support for Sahaya International, a program assisting AIDS orphans in India and Africa.

“When someone has a burning desire about an issue our groups gets behind it,” said Guy Turner, committee chairman. “The person with the burning desire makes it happen.”

Marcia Berry, a member of the committee, said when she joined the parish in 1993 she was “looking for a place in the church to serve.” She found herself coordinating the St. Nicholas Giving Tree.

“I wanted to demonstrate my faith to my children, to show them I could be a busy involved mom and still have time for people in the world,” Berry said.

At St. Ignatius Parish in Sacramento, the commitment to give energy and priority to social ministry followed a parish discernment process. Since 2003, social justice has been Jeanne Anderson-West’s full-time job as director of social ministries.

Parishioners now support “The Saints Build,” a collaborative effort shared with St. Mark’s United Methodist and St. Michael’s Episcopal Churches in Sacramento in building a Habitat for Humanity home. Twice a month the parish’s Sharing God’s Bounty ministry provides sit-down meals for the homeless, serving more than 14,000 guests since 1999.

But perhaps one of the hallmarks of social justice at St. Ignatius is its social concerns ministry, which provides education focusing on local and global issues.

In the past the parish has sponsored forums and workshops featuring representatives from Homeboy Industries, assisting at-risk and former gang members in Los Angeles, the Jesuit Refugee Service, Wellspring Women’s Center and Loaves & Fishes in Sacramento.

The parish community has also supported projects abroad at sister churches in Zambia and Honduras.

“It is our hope seeds are planted and together we effectively create positive change where the need is greatest,” Anderson-West said.

St. Anthony Parish in Sacramento has also incorporated a vision of social justice as an integral part of parishioners living out their faith.

Rich Fowler, co-chair of the parish social justice committee, said “It’s part of our faith to care for the most vulnerable, not being do-gooders but enabling the whole parish to care for those in need. The goal is to get 100 percent of our people involved in ministry to the community.”

To that end, St. Anthony has sponsored on-site forums and study groups on topics such as criminal justice and youth concerns. “Body, Mind and Spirit” forums coordinated by a parish nurse have focused on topics such as Alzheimer’s disease, health care and end-of-life decision making. Parishioners have been involved in the annual Catholic Lobby Day in Sacramento and in organizing presentations by representatives of Catholic Relief Services from various countries.

Some parishioners are involved in the South Sacramento Interfaith partnership, a ministry that includes more than 20 churches and operates a South Sacramento food locker assisting families in need.

They also support Maryhouse daytime shelter for women and children with monthly donations of needed items, and have served as volunteers for “Get on the Bus,” a Mother’s Day prison visitation project.

“We are coming to a growing awareness that faith involves more than attending Mass,” said Frank Allen, co-chair of the committee with Fowler. “We’re called to action.”

St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Sacramento also has mainstreamed social service into parish life.

Kay Skonieczny is director of outreach at St. Francis, where the ministry is a full-time job.

St. Francis parishioners support and staff the Step ministry, which provides a safe sleeping space daily and breakfast every morning at the church, a program that involves 30 parishioners.

The parish also supports Loaves & Fishes and Francis House in Sacramento and Franciscan missions globally.

“We’re trying to live out the Gospel call to put our energies and talents to serve the marginalized,” Skonieczny said. “It flavors who we are and what we do.”

In Solano County, St. Basil, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Vincent Ferrer parishes in Vallejo collaborate on efforts to clean up the environment, work together to incorporate social justice themes into liturgies, and sponsor forums on social service issues.

“Collaboration has been essential,” said Fred Soley, a member of St. Basil Parish. “You work with some talented people and it keeps you going.”

The call in Pastoral Initiative 7 for deacons to be actively involved in the development of social ministry is also being answered in several parishes.

At St. John the Baptist Parish in Folsom, Deacon Dennis Merino volunteers his time working as a member of the Inside Circle Foundation, a program at California State Prison, Sacramento that provides counseling and support services for men who are incarcerated.

In addition to helping inmates heal, the Inside Circle assists parolees in searching for a job.

“The program absolutely changes men,” said Deacon Merino, who is not only informing parishioners about the program but inviting Sacramento-area parishes to generate financial support for the program.

Other deacons in the diocese who have become involved in the Inside Circle Foundation include Deacon James McFadden at Divine Savior Parish in Orangevale and Deacon Don Waldmar at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Roseville.

Dennis Gorsuch, also a member of St. John the Baptist, who is studying for the permanent diaconate, coordinates a job seekers workshop which provides job skills for people who are unemployed.

“We’re helping people find a job so they can feel better about themselves,” said Gorsuch, who partners with Divine Savior Parish in supporting the workshops.

Deacon Joe Symkowick serves at the Newman Catholic Center in Sacramento and also works as a partnership officer with Catholic Relief Services West.

Symkowick is leading an effort to enlist deacons to be points of contact tasked to educate parishioners on fair trade issues.

“Fair trade is a kind of microcosm of social justice in the world,” said Symkowick, who sees deacons as facilitators empowered to introduce models of fair trade within their individual parish communities.

“We want people to start thinking not about getting the best deal but what goes into consumer projects,” he said. “We’re looking for the common good and dignity of human beings.”

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