Service and Outreach – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

Partakers College Behind Bars Mentoring: We’re Looking for a Few Good Mentors!

Zoom Info Session Thursday, May 1, 2025, 6 PM – 7:15 PM
For over three decades, the Partakers College Behind Bars Mentoring Program has changed lives by matching teams of volunteer mentors with incarcerated individuals enrolled in college degree programs based in MA prisons. Partakers mentors develop transformative helping relationships with College Behind Bars students and support their mentees as they navigate the academic and personal challenges of pursuing higher education in the prison setting.

We now have six SJSP mentors and it would be great to get another team of 4! Please join us to hear about Partaker’s powerful mentoring program…

Lenten Gift Story Part 3: The Connections

When Fr. Gabriel arrived in the St. John-Paul II community in Bamenda, the people had no place to worship together and were hanging on by a thread. He told himself, “We must have a church here.” The people asked him, “Father, how can we have a church here? We have no land, we have nothing.” He answered, “We just pray. God will show us a way.” Fr. Gabriel told them to look for anything – any building, any place someone offers to start their church. A family came to him and said, “Father, we have a piece of land, and a chicken coop…”

So they cleared out the chickens, cleaned up the building, and started their church. Even this seemed like a small miracle, despite the fact that half of the large and growing congregation had to remain outside during Mass. They continued to dream of and pray for the proper church they would build someday – even if it took 30-40-50 years – where the whole community would be able to worship in together…

Lenten Gift Story Part 2: The Catholic Church in Bamenda, Cameroon

Christianity is the dominant religion in Cameroon (about two-thirds of the population), with Roman Catholics making up more than half of the Christian population. Cameroon faces numerous crises that threaten its social fabric, which are rooted in the country’s colonial history…

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, who stayed with us and celebrated Mass at St. Paul Church last year while in the U.S. visiting the scholar priests from his diocese, said, “My churches are all bursting, and I don’t have space to keep the young people… and my shortest Mass would be about two and a half hours.”

Against this backdrop is Build the Faith’s new church project in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, the home diocese of Fr. Gabriel and Fr. Lesley… Both have spoken about the needs of these flourishing faith communities to have physical spaces to worship and to serve as centers of community in these unstable areas…

Lenten Gift Story Part 1: Build the Faith

BUILD THE FAITH was inspired by the unwavering faith in God exhibited by Christina Dangond Lacouture, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in December 2012, at the tender age of 6. In the months and years after her diagnosis, Christina and her parents, Monica Lacouture and Fernando Dangond, members of our Collaborative, began to organize rosary groups and retreats. The family also heard of a proposed Catholic church in their home country of Colombia that was to be built in an area stricken with poverty and in need of funding. They held fundraisers and collected donations, and together made rosaries to sell for the cause. In 2016, they founded Build the Faith as a non-profit to “help build the Catholic faith around the world.”

In 2017, Christina and her family flew to Colombia to present the church with a check for $20,000, and in February of 2018, a month after Christina died, Monica flew back to Colombia to present the church with another check, this time for $25,000…

Thursday, March 20: Lenten Gift Lecture – “Turning Dreams into Reality with Build the Faith”

Please join us on Thursday, March 20 at 7:00pm in St. John Powers Hall for “Turning Dreams into Reality with Build the Faith.” The evening will offer a comprehensive introduction to our 2025 Lenten Gift recipient, Build the Faith, and their current project which our gift will support – the building of a church in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, Cameroon.

Monica Lacouture and Fernando Dangond will share the story of Build the Faith, which was inspired by the unwavering faith in God exhibited by their daughter, Christina Dangond Lacouture, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the tender age of 6.

Fr. Gabriel and Fr. Lesley, who both served as pastor in this community before joining us here in Wellesley, will share their experiences…

An Important Message from NPH: Emergency Funds needed in Haiti

Today I write to you about our home and programs in Haiti, and a recent emergency need that we ask for your support. Our programs in Haiti are vast, supporting over 3,500 individuals from the capital to the mountains of Kenscoff, where our main campus and home provides services to over 600 children. Of those, 340 children live on campus full time, including 53 with disabilities from the Kay Christine program and over 100 staff members.

Throughout the last few weeks, due to violence in the Kenscoff area, NPH’s main children’s home was compelled to open its doors to accommodate 392 refugees, including 145 children. These individuals and children have lost everything – their homes, belongings, food, and clothing…

Catholic Charities Boston Seeks Playspace Volunteers

Catholic Charities Inn, a Safety-Net Shelter run by Catholic Charities Boston, is looking for volunteers to watch children while their caregiver(s) are in an onsite English as a Second/Other Language (ESOL) and Workforce Development class.

Children and volunteers will be in the shelter playroom, which is stocked with toys and activities. Volunteers are expected to supervise the children; keep them safe; and engage in play, reading, and other activities with them. Shelter staff are onsite for support as needed. Volunteers are needed on Tuesdays from 10am-1pm and on Thursdays from 10am-12pm. We welcome people to volunteer for one or both shifts.

If interested…

Do You Love to Knit/Crochet? Help Make Baby Items for our Mother’s Day “Baby Shower” for Pregnancy Help Boston!

Our Collaborative will once again host a Mother’s Day “Baby Shower” to collect needed items for the clients of Pregnancy Help Boston, a pregnancy resource center supported through the Archdiocese…

Last year we also provided handmade baby items like hats and blankets for newborns, and the staff at Pregnancy Help remarked particularly on the quantity and quality of the knitted items. Many women who come to Pregnancy Help are alone, so having such a unique and special item for their baby, knitted with love in magnificent colors, is a very special gift!

It’s time to get knitting! We’re asking folks who love to knit/crochet to participate in this ministry once again…

Thank You from Birthright of Framingham

On behalf of Birthright of Framingham, thank you for the lovely and generous donation of baby items following your St. Paul Giving Tree drive. Once again, we were overwhelmed and deeply humbled by St. Paul’s incredible outpouring of generosity. There were so many boxes and bags of donated items that my jeep was filled to the brim – twice! What an enormous effort by your Parish and the Giving Tree Ministry! This donation will carry us through much of the year for many of the basic supplies we try to offer our clients, like diapers, wipes, baby blankets, warm clothing, and bathing supplies. I can tell you that it does truly make a difference to the families who come into Birthright when we are able to provide them with these items…

Sunday, February 9: We’re Joining Capuchin Mobile Missions for Winter Walk 2025!

Please consider joining the Capuchin Mobile Missions Winter Walk Team to help raise awareness and critical funds for their important mission!

All are welcome – individuals, families, adults, kids – even dogs! It’s a great opportunity to join together in service with other members of our SJSP community!

While those who are able to fundraise or make a personal donation for Capuchin Mobile Missions are encouraged to do so, it not required to participate in the walk. To register…

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