Church Contacts Everyone in Parish about COVID

Here's a great story about loving your neighbor: a church in Rhode Island sent a postcard to every home in its parish about COVID-19. The church was asking for a picture of anyone lost to the coronavirus so that it could offer up prayers for that person.

Here's the thing, though: they sent a postcard to EVERY household in the parish, not just the parishioners of that church, and a postcard was sent regardless of the household's religious preference.

Father Adam Young with Saint Paul Catholic Church in Cranston, RI, sent out a Tweet about the postcards showing a wall of pictures the church received as a result of the postcards. When asked if anyone who is not a parishioner sent in a picture of someone they lost to COVID, Fr. Young responded with

"They did! Many of the photos we didn’t recognize as “parishioners“ per se. A few others mentioned specifically that they were responding to our postcard. The parish is here for the whole community!" - Fr. Young, Twitter

In a time of such divisiveness, it's good to see that some are still reaching across imaginary lines to offer support for others.

By the way: you may recognize the name Father Adam Young if you watch Food Network, as he was a contestant on their "Worst Cooks in America" show.

He lost on that show but wins big in our hearts for being inclusive.