What a busy few days I had a number of weeks ago. I visited St. Thomas of Canterbury, St. Luke's, and St. Gregory's -- all in Long Beach! What an incredibly diverse group of churches, yet each are doing mission and ministry in wonderful ways. They are meeting the needs of the communities surrounding them. It was fascinating and humbling to hear all the areas of mission and ministry they are participating in!
At. St. Gregory's, I met with Fr. Stephen and found out about a wonderful food pantry they have, where they provide food to local families on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. At St Luke's, among all the outreach they do in the community they have a homeless shower program -- and in the women's shower area, there's a washer and dryer. How Christ-like! At St. Thomas, they'll be hosting a health fair in the near future which will include everything from soup to nuts, including bone density testing and fall prevention.
One of my favorite "findings" at St. Luke's was the picture above -- about Jesus being really, really, really -- well you get the message -- COOL! What a profound statement of faith in a community that takes outreach seriously.
The three parishes in Long Beach are different, but they are all committed to mission and ministry -- such a blessing!!
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