Members and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the San Antonio area had a wonderful opportunity to solidify a growing relationship with leaders from Catholic Charities at a luncheon this afternoon. Building on the mutual desire to serve as Jesus would serve, the organizations gave structural overviews to help each better understand how they can best work together.
Tracy Ladgenski, Vice President of Mission Advancement for Catholic Charities spoke of the various charities and programs that fall under the umbrella of Catholic Charities. Ladgenski also spoke of the wide scope of their services throughout the city, mentioning that much of what they do is dependent on volunteers. Lizzy Nemeth, Executive Director of Catholic Charities Guadalupe Center said: “It was important to learn more about how to connect and understand the stakes and wards within the Latter-day Saint’s Church and also just learning more about all of the ways y’all have already supported us.”
Elder Carlos Villarreal, Area Authority Seventy for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said that the service performed by both organizations reminds him of Christ’s teaching of the first and second great commandments. “When Christ taught the second commandment, ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’, He was truly telling us how we keep the first commandment. If you are going to love God with all of your heart, might, mind and strength the way to do it is with the second commandment.”
the structure of the local Church
Amy Livingstone, Director of Public Affairs for the San Antonio North Stake spoke of how the Church is organized locally and also spoke of some of the opportunities the two groups have had to work together to serve the community within the last month.
This luncheon comes on the heels of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being awarded “Community Partner of the Year” by Catholic Charities of San Antonio, in April. Catholic Charities cited the large number of Latter-day Saint volunteers who they have come to rely on across a variety of Catholic Charities’ programs. They expressed sincere appreciation for the work of Church volunteers and for the consistency of that service.
The San Antonio North Stake participated in Catholic Charities’ 40 Cans for Lent food drive which wrapped up at Easter. Contributions were collected and Church members ultimately contributed close to 1000 pounds of non-perishable food. Missionaries from the Texas San Antonio mission also spent many hours inventorying and organizing donations from around the city.
As part of this year’s North Stake Women’s Conference, sisters donated items to help care for teenage mothers at Seton Home. Seton Home works to break the cycle of abuse and poverty by providing a caring home, education, and support services needed to transform the lives of pregnant and parenting teen mothers and their children. Along with the donations, more than 50 notes of encouragement were sent in to support these girls.
Also, at the beginning of April, close to 40 volunteers from multiple stakes participated in a Catholic Charities effort to renovate St. Stephens, an old school and church, into a center intended to shelter and serve refugees, immigrant families, and others in need here in San Antonio.