A spirit of common purpose and commitment was palpably evident at the recent launch meeting of the Madison diocesan chapter of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) international faith-based humanitarian aid organization.
On March 18, 26 people from across the diocese met at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Madison to learn about and join together in forming the newest grassroots arm of CRS.
The diverse group, which included Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison and other members of the clergy and laity attended a lecture-discussion session led by national and regional CRS representatives, Chris West from Baltimore and Desire Findlay from Chicago.
At the end of their two-hour presentation on CRS and its work, 23 individuals signed on as charter members of the new chapter, which emerged as the inaugural CRS presence in the state of Wisconsin.
West remarked that the event struck him as being the largest single sign-up of chapter members in recent CRS institutional memory.
Doing the work of the Church
Catholic Relief Services is a worldwide humanitarian aid and advocacy organization and was established in 1943 to provide site-based relief and coordinated development support for displaced and destitute persons affected by the horrors of World War II.
Over its history, the mission and presence of this global assistance arm of the Catholic Church have grown steadily, with trained CRS staff presently working in more than 100 countries across five continents.
Governed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), CRS has earned a reputation of effective operations with 94 percent of funds going to direct humanitarian assistance.
CRS tends to global human needs in the areas of emergency relief, transformational change, and sustainability through public programs at home and abroad, volunteer advocacy, education, and training.
Its funding base reflects governmental and private institutional charitable and philanthropic giving.
CRS functions at the local level through chapters and clubs made up of persons who work together to build public awareness, promote advocacy, and conduct community-based fundraising targeting global needs through collective activities such as the popular CRS Rice Bowl program.
CRS works in the spirit of Catholic social teaching to promote the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person.
Chapters and clubs provide a localized presence and organizational focus for wider information/data sharing, enhanced communications, and coordinated action within a specific locale or among particular interest groups.
Recognized in part for its 80-plus-year record of accomplishment by its status as a federally authorized faith-based nonprofit organization, CRS is found in 72 of 194 dioceses in the U.S. through chapters and/or clubs operating in 31 states and territories, now including Wisconsin.
Detailed information on the mission, organization, operation, and impact of Catholic Relief Services may be found on its website crs.org.
‘Selfless caring’
The theme of selfless caring for suffering humanity through combined effort appears throughout CRS literature and in public media coverage of its activities.
Translating this into concrete terms, and when asked to give the invocational blessing for the Madison chapter, Bishop Hying reflected on CRS’s spiritual underpinnings by reading the parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of St. Luke.
Additional testimony solicited from chapter members about the reasons for their own decision to participate ranged widely.
More than one respondent cited some degree of identification with the traditional Catholic Christian call for action, “The charity of Christ urges us.”
Others saw CRS as a hopeful way for individuals to take on pressing issues of worldwide social justice and concern as a counter to cynical negativism and despair.
Still, others lauded CRS’s tenacity in actively meeting existential challenges in some of the most deeply troubled places on earth, including Haiti, Ukraine, and Gaza.
The CRS Madison chapter is eager for persons of goodwill to learn about and ideally engage in its wider work.
Anyone interested will be able to gain familiarity with the CRS mission through monthly chapter meetings and national CRS calls.
For questions, further information, or to register interest feel free to contact Sarah Stout at sarah.stout@madisondiocese.org or 608-821-3045.