Last summer a friend challenged my Bible study group to read “The Hole in our Gospel” by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision.  After reading the brief summary posted on the back of the book,

“What does God expect of us?  Is our faith about just going to Church, studying the Bible and avoiding the most serious sin – or does God expect more?  Have we embraced the whole gospel or a gospel with a hole in it?  Ten years ago Rich Stearns came face-to face with that question as he sat in a mud hut in Rakai, Uganda, listening to the heartbreaking story of an orphaned child.  Steans’ journey there took much more than a long flight to Africa.  It took answering God’s call on his life, a call that tore him out of his corner office at one of America’s most prestigious corporations – to walk with the poorest of poor in the world.”

I am ashamed to say that I opted out of that challenge.  But God apparently intended for me to read that book.  So, due to my friend’s persistence throughout the year, the book was number one on my reading list for this summer,  and shortly I was engrossed by the testimony of the author and the plight of millions of children around the world.  I can assure you that it wasn’t light, happy summer reading.  However, I highly recommend the book as it truly opened my eyes and is prompting change within me and my family.

“Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours.  Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now”

St. Teresa of Avila

One of the reasons that I was attracted to the Catholic Church was the Church’s preferential option for the poor and caring for the least and the lost.  However, when it came to time to sign up for ministry activities in my parish and in previous churches, I always found myself drawn towards activities within the Church such as teaching Sunday school, facilitating Bible studies and working on the welcome committee.  While all these are worthy endeavors, I realized that serving the poor was left off the list.

Although I was familiar with Christ’s words in the passage of Matthew 25:31-46 where He tells about the final judgment, I don’t think I personalized this message as I should have.  What have I done to feed the hungry?  What have I done to give water to the thirsty?  What have I done to help a stranger?  What have I done to clothe the naked? What have I done to look after the sick?  What have I done to visit those in prison?

The book, the scripture, the truth in Christ’s words culminated in a very uncomfortable conviction for me.  I had been blessed to be a blessing to others– but I was allowing God’s blessing in my life to stop with me.  As you know when you reach the “aha” moment, it can be a little overwhelming.  How can I implement a life style of service into my already busy life? Mother Teresa’s words provided the answer and direction in which to begin – start small.

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

Mother Teresa

Armed with that advice and some free days this summer, several of us have identified a few organizations in our hometown of Atlanta where you can serve on a moment’s notice.  That flexibility is helpful when you also have to navigate the family schedule filled with children’s activities, summer doctor appointments and trips.

While I haven’t personally served in all these ministries, someone in our Bible study group has.  Here is a list of groups that are in need of volunteers throughout the summer.  In most cases you can simply call the day before, reserve a spot to serve,  and/or make a commitment to bring food to a drop off location.

Must Ministries – is a faith based non profit charitable organization dedicated to providing services to persons and families in crisis while maintaining their dignity.  Must has several areas in which to serve.  The summer lunch program serves 2,000 plus lunches to children everyday totaling nearly 100,000 lunches per summer.  The ministry needs volunteers to provide lunches to be distributed at one of their service centers.  Instructions and guidelines can be found on their website at www.mustministries.org.

City of Refuge – offers both life saving resources and life building tools to individuals and families in Atlanta who are living on the margin.  There are also multiple opportunities here to serve.  One ministry within City of Refuge is called Meals on the Street.  Individuals or groups of 10 or less serve dinner on Wednesday evenings from 4 to 6 PM and breakfast on Sundays from 8:45 to 10 AM to homeless men and women on the streets.  For more information and/or to make reservations to serve, visit www.cityofrefugeinc.com.

7 Bridges to Recovery is a non-profit ministry rescuing the last, the lost and the least from the streets of Atlanta.  There are several opportunities here to serve including a street ministry where teams of volunteers go into the street and under bridges to bring food and needed items to the homeless and pray with them.  The ministry also operates a shelter called The Garden.  Volunteers can provide food items for dinner and/or assist with serving dinner at the shelter every night.  For more information on how to become involved, visit www.7bridgestorecovery.org.

Saint Francis Table –is a ministry of The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  The ministry feeds over 500 people every Saturday.  Volunteers are needed beginning at 7:00 AM on Saturday mornings to prepare sandwiches.  Groups and individuals can donate sandwiches and food items.  For more information visit the website www.catholicshrineatlanta.org

So whether you are a seasoned volunteer who is looking for a new opportunity in which serve this summer or you are just starting small like me, there are plenty of places in which to get involved.

Chick A

Carolina Chick “B”

A Coca-Cola at about 4:00 in the afternoon

A quiet reading night by the fire with my family

Unloading a full dishwasher – the result of my family being at home

An interesting book

The smell of fresh cut grass in the springtime

A great after-dinner discussion around the kitchen table

Pimiento cheese

Grandparents

Living in the South

All three of my aunts

A funny card

Dogs and cats, mostly dogs

My blue truck – Ramses Maria

Chocolate – (Doesn’t it make every list?  God is so good!!)

Inside family jokes

Old hymns

Sweet tea with mint and lots of ice

A stranger’s smile on a crowded busy street

The smell of fall in the air

Silly songs and poems

A text message from one of my children

Lessons learned in hard times

Steaks on the grill

An enthusiastic greeting from a big, furry golden retriever

Rainy day money when the rainy day has arrived

A priest who always begins his homilies with a good clean religious joke

A beautiful painting

Fried chicken

The band playing at a college football game

Pecan pie

Being members of the Tiber Swim Team

Big waves on a sunny day at the beach

God’s grace in accepting my middle aged lumps, bumps and rolls

Scented candles

A crow in his nest

Daily mass

Uncles Jimmy who gets in his pajamas early

Laughter

Silent retreats

Being Southern

Chicks A and B

Dear Friends of the Chicks:

While sippin’ some sweet tea on the front porch, we were reflecting on all the wonderful people that God has brought into our lives during our journey into the Church and since our confirmation.  We are grateful for the acquaintances and friends that have encouraged us in our faith, and we want to express our thanks to you.

In true Southern style, we are sending you a little token of our appreciation to enjoy during this month of family, feasting, and fellowship.  We Southerners like to cook, and sharing good food is a sure sign of friendship.  So, we thought you might like a slice of “Bygone Days Buttermilk Chess Pie” with your Thanksgiving dinner. SInce we can’t send the pie, the recipe will have to do.

Y’all enjoy, and God bless.

“Bygone Days Buttermilk Chess Pie”

from the kitchen of the Southern Catholic Chicks

Ingredients

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened

3 rounded Tbs. all purpose flour

3 eggs, beaten

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

dash of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream together sugar and butter.  Add flour and eggs; beat well.  Add buttermilk and flavorings.  Mix well.  Pour into 2 unbaked 9” pie shells.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until top is lightly browned and feels “set.”

Makes 2 regular 9” pies.

Chicks A and B

Divine Mercy Care
by Deal W. Hudson
10/05/09
The Window
Published at www.insidecatholic.com

“Put us head to head with any Planned Parenthood clinic, and people will choose us.” Dr. John Bruchalski, an OB/GYN in Fairfax, Virginia, told me how his Divine Mercy Care organization can transform national health care. DMC presently consists of an obstetrics and gynecology facility, the Tepeyac Family Center, and the DMC Pharmacy, opened almost a year ago.

Dr. Bruchalski has become a much-beloved Catholic physician in northern Virginia since he and his wife, Carolyn, a registered nurse, started the practice in their basement in 1993. The Tepeyac Family Center, with six NFP-only physicians and one nurse practitioner, is the largest pro-life OB/GYN practice of its kind in the nation.

Bruchalski’s vision of pro-life medical care goes beyond the rejection of abortion and contraception as medical options. He was emphatic when he told me, “I have to see the underserved in my daily life.” As a result, Tepeyac is the largest provider of obstetric services to Medicaid patients in northern Virginia.

DMC has three pillars, according to Bruchalski: to offer excellent medicine, serve the underserved, and make daily use of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. These commitments grew out of Bruchalski’s own conversion from conventional obstetrics as a medical student and resident.

I asked what changed his view of medicine. “We were taught to believe that fertility could be controlled and would lead to happiness,” he said, “but my experience changed my mind. Just the opposite was the case: diseases were becoming epidemic; relationships broke up; women using contraceptives were being hurt by being subjected to men — all leading to sadness, depression, and loss of libido.”

It was a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe that enabled him to see what was happening to women. Standing at the back of the shrine, waiting to see the image, he heard an interior voice say, “Why are you hurting me?” He says he didn’t understand it at the time but recalls, “It was a very feminine voice, very kind and understanding, but very direct.” After he returned to school, Bruchalski realized it was the voice of the Blessed Mother.

Later, on a trip to Medjugorje, he met a young woman from Belgium who gave him a list of 50 things that would come to pass in his life. Forty-five of them have happened, including starting a new practice and creating a new paradigm for health care.

The new paradigm, first of all, means spending more time with patients. “We utilize a holistic approach because many physical ailments are due to relational issues. That involves time spent listening to patients, praying with them, and helping them to find the resources they need.  We have learned that suffering is not there to be fought, but to be utilized to realize what it means to be human: an opportunity to move outside of yourself.”

“This is the way to true renewal in health care — not handing it over to the government to administer,” Bruchalski explained. “Government programs are not the way to go; they will remove the doctor from the patient and threaten personal liberty.” He insists that the community is the best place to provide medical care, where “judgment stays in the hands of patients and doctors.”

Given the additional time spent with patients, the service provided to the underserved, and the decreasing reimbursement by insurance companies, DMC has switched to a non-profit business model. “In medicine today, if you try to do it fee-for-service, in certain specialties it is very difficult to make money,” says Bruchalski. With an ongoing direct mail campaign and a very popular annual gala, on November 14 this year, DMC has kept its head above the water. But their DMC Pharmacy is in particular need of greater support in the form of more customers.

Tucked away in a shopping center in Chantilly, Virginia, the pharmacy is run by Robert Sembler, a veteran pharmacist who ran his own pro-life drug store before coming to DMC. Just before its opening, the pharmacy was attacked by the Washington Post for not selling contraceptives and, in particular, the Plan B “emergency” contraceptive.

Sembler hopes that pro-lifers and Catholics will realize the importance of using the DMC Pharmacy for their prescriptions, even if the store is not conveniently located for them. He showed me how anyone could fill in a form online, or over the phone, and have his or her prescriptions mailed to the home for a small fee. (I signed up on the spot.)

Dr. Bruchalski wants the work of DMC to grow, not merely survive. With more financial support he could hire some of the many physicians who have contacted him saying they want to work in a pro-life practice. New physicians would bring in additional patients, which would get Tepeyac to the point of breaking even; 400 new customers at the pharmacy would do the same.

As I began wrapping up the interview, Dr. Bruchalski stopped me — the evangelist in him insisted on making one point, and it was a powerful summary of what Divine Mercy Care represents.

“We cannot always take a pill to get rid of a medical problem. The body and the soul are unified, but science has divorced them. The growth of the alternative medicine industry shows that people are seeking a relationship with their physician. Being a physician is more than being a technician, more than being a dispenser of medicine. It is a vocation.”

Deal W. Hudson is the director of InsideCatholic.com and the author of Onward, Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States (Simon and Schuster). Readers can contact Richard Sembler at the DMC Pharmacy by calling 703-961-9055, or toll free at 1-888-855-1810.

Southern Catholic Chicks A and B