I had the privilege this past weekend to return to the cheerful Church of St. Rosalie in Hampton Bays, New York. For the third year in a row, CCD students collected funds for CNEWA and other charities, as part of their Lenten “Mite Box” activity, which was arranged by Religious Formation Director Eileen McPhelin and Marion Boden of the parish’s Committee of the Common Good (Marion gets a special thank you for greeting me with a hot cup of coffee after my long train ride from Penn Station!) During the 9:30 Mass, I gratefully received a check for $1,000 and was able to briefly thank the CCD students who made this all possible.
The funds will go to our work in the Middle East, especially for refugees in the region. The children for whom our partners are providing healthcare and education, I noted, are the same age as the students who raised this extraordinary amount.
Special thanks also to the pastor, the Rev. Edward Sheridan for his support each year, and the Rev. John Wachowicz, the newly-ordained assistant pastor, who I knew when we were both students at Fordham. (Go Rams!)
If your parish would like to make an impact for children and families in the Middle East and beyond, let me know.