PORTLAND, Maine — Parish Social Ministry, a Catholic Charities Maine program, has announced that two Aroostook County parishes will receive Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grants.
St. Mary of the Visitation Parish of Houlton will receive a $1,000 grant, and the Parish of the Precious Blood of the Presque Isle-Caribou area will receive $2,000. A total of eight parishes statewide received grants totaling more than $23,000.
St. Mary’s $1,000 grant will help the parish host a free café for individuals waiting to be served at Mildred’s Food Pantry in Houlton. Funds will provide training for parishioners in ways to engage people who are receiving food at the pantry so the parish can learn how to better serve this population.
The Parish of the Precious Blood (Caribou, Presque Isle, Portage, Washburn, Fort Fairfield, Mars Hill, Limestone, Ashland, Stockholm) will use its $2,000 to help the St. Louis Ecumenical Food Pantry in Limestone replace four old freezers with three new energy-efficient freezers. Part of the grant will also be used to purchase materials to help pantry clients learn the best ways to cook the food they receive.
The mission of Parish Social Ministry is to provide leadership, guidance, Catholic social teaching education and training to empower parishioners to compassionately serve people of all faiths living in their communities. The CCHD parish grants support initiatives that aim to solve community-wide problems, empowering those in need to make ongoing life changes and to become more self-sufficient while offering parishioners the opportunity to serve those less fortunate.
Other parishes receiving grants were Holy Savior Parish (Rumford, Bethel); Parish of the Holy Eucharist (Falmouth, Yarmouth, Freeport, Gray); St. Paul the Apostle Parish (Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Winterport); Parish of the Resurrection of the Lord (Old Town, Orono, Bradley, Indian Island); St. Anthony of Padua Parish (Westbrook); and Corpus Christi Parish (Waterville, Winslow, Belgrade Lakes).
For more information, contact Michael Smith, director of mission for Catholic Charities Maine, at (207) 523-2772 or msmith@ccmaine.org.
