Diocese of Fall River, Mass. † Friday, September 1, 2023
Dartmouth’s My Brother’s Keeper marks 10 years of serving South Coast Volunteer-based ministry continues to increase services to those in need
DARTMOUTH — On Friday, August 4, the Christian ministry My Brother’s Keeper marked 10 years serving families in need in Christ’s name from their Dartmouth location. To celebrate this anniversary, 50 My Brother’s Keeper volunteers served together in the morning and shared a meal prepared by volunteers for their weekly “community lunch.” For the past 35 years, My Brother’s Keeper has primarily served families in need in the Brockton area. In the summer of 2013, they expanded services to the South Coast, and in 2017, constructed a 23,000 square foot facility on Reed Road in Dartmouth to put down permanent roots in the community. Today, My Brother’s Keeper’s Easton and Dartmouth facilities deliver furniture, food, and Christmas gifts free of charge. Since opening, staff and volunteers at the charity’s Dartmouth facility have completed more than 6,500 furniture deliveries, 16,000
food deliveries, and 5,000 Christmas deliveries. These 27,000 deliveries represent $8.5 million of services to tens of thousands of South Coast residents in need. “The number of lives this volunteer community has been able to touch the past 10 years has exceeded all our expectations,” said Josh Smith, Director of the Dartmouth Division. “As a result, children now have a positive memory of receiving their first bed. Families are healthier thanks to well-balanced, emergency food deliveries. And parents haven’t experienced the pain of having to watch their children go without on Christmas morning.” My Brother’s Keeper was founded in 1988 by a husband and wife, Jim and Terry Orcutt, in the basement of their Taunton home. The ministry’s staff of 16 full-time employees now has more than 5,000 volunteers to complete 18,000 deliveries 8 Turn to page three
Staff and volunteers at the Dartmouth location of My Brother’s Keeper celebrated the ministry’s 10th anniversary.
Some of the 24 diocesan pilgrims who attended World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, attend a candle-light vigil in Our Lady of Fatima.
Local pilgrims describe ‘an all-consuming wildfire in Lisbon’ Compiled by Dave Jolivet Editor LISBON, Portugal — Twenty-four young adults and chaperons from the Fall River Diocese attended the recent World Youth Day in Lisbon Portugal. Two young pilgrims together with Oscar Rivera, diocesan director of Youth Ministry and newly-ordained Father John Garabedian were eager to share with The Anchor, the emotions and experiences felt during the spiritual mountain top. Rivera told The Anchor, “The week leading to our pilgrimage my coworker asked if I had heard there were wildfires outside of Lisbon. Another asked, ‘Have you heard there are strikes taking place leading up to your pilgrimage?’ Someone else mentioned there were some political statements being made about the pope’s visit. Yet nothing could prepare me for the fire that was going to take place, a fire that would impact 1.5 million and even touch the Diocese of Fall River. “When talking to youth throughout the diocese after a Catholic Youth Day or Regional Retreat or speaking to youth beyond our diocese after a national conference, common statements are usually heard: ‘Being around people who share the same faith is uplifting,’ ‘I didn’t know these many of my peers love the faith like
I do.’ These statements are made after encountering Jesus with hundreds or a couple of thousand at local or national youth gatherings. What if, however, an encounter with Jesus transcended national identity, and cultural Catholicism and was felt on international ground surrounded by cultures, languages and customs that were different than our own? The one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church displayed its faith deep in the culture of the Gospel, strengthened and empowered by the Holy Spirit, passed on by 2,000 years of tradition, and handed down by the successors of the Apostles. This faith transcended linguistic and cultural boundaries and was and is always unified into one body by the Eucharist. This encounter took place in Lisbon, Portugal this August 1-7. “A group of 18- to 25-yearold pilgrims, joined by Father John Garabedian, and two diocesan employees, David Carvahlo, diocesan Secretary for the New Evangelization and me had planned this pilgrimage with two very important missions. Mission one: a purpose-driven pilgrimage; and mission two: rekindling of the faith of cultural Catholics. “The first, a purpose-driven pilgrimage, was designed to allow the pilgrims to take charge of their journey, Therefore leaders were
Turn†to page five September 1,82023
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