Annual gala reflects giving spirit of members of Diocese of Metuchen

“Catholic Charities is part of the mission of us all: to be baptized to spread the heart and mind of Jesus everywhere we go,” declared diocesan vicar general Father Timothy A. Christy during the 2020 Champions for Catholic Charities virtual gala and fundraiser Oct. 22.

Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, the event’s usual gala dinner and awards ceremony took the form of a half-hour live broadcast and streaming video on the diocesan website.

Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen (CCDOM), which is supported by the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, serves the needy with more than 100 programs in about 20 locations. During this past year, staff and about 650 volunteers offered 40,000 hours of counselling; cared for 1,594 children; supplied the hungry with 155,014 meals and helped more than 50,000 people, according to its website.

Most recently, explained Julio Coto, the agency’s acting executive director, the ongoing pandemic has strained already tight resources. Over the past five months, Coto said, CCDOM has supplied about 3,000 families with $1.3 million in rental assistance and delivered 7,000 bags of food.

Msgr. Joseph G. Celano, episcopal vicar of administration and pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Somerville, said the gala was “a celebration of and an invitation to partner with the work of Catholic Charities” during the recent pandemic; he expressed gratitude for the numerous parishes which had stepped forward to offer funds to the agency during the unprecedented year of need.

Msgr. Celano introduced a segment about a client named Amanda, who had been aided by Catholic Charities’ “Keeping Families Together” program. Once addicted to drugs, Amanda had lost custody of her son and been arrested. “Keeping Families Together” program manager Marci Booth noted that the first-of-its-kind program had assisted the young woman with housing vouchers, therapy and employment services.

Today, Amanda is living with her son independently and enrolled in college full-time studying medical technology.

“You aren’t alone, you don’t have to be alone,” she told her unseen audience. “You are not the only one going through something. You can make mistakes, but you can also fix them.”

The film shared a glimpse into the life of CCDOM client Heidi, who had fallen into a deep depression after her husband died. The widow benefited from the New Brunswick-based PACT program, or Program of Assertive Community Treatment. Kevin Mal, a member of the program, arranged for Heidi’s psychological care, counseling, medicines and nursing, and visited her frequently to assure she was doing well during the pandemic isolation.

Heidi reflected, “I was overwhelmed, anxious and depressed. Now I have somebody to talk to me. I realize that they are there for me.”

“Catholic Charities is Christian discipleship at its most fundamental,” said Msgr. William Benwell, pastor, St. Mary-Stony Hill Parish, Watchung, and chairman of the CCDOM Board of Trustees. He noted that the agency “didn’t miss a beat” during the coronavirus, and advised the event’s viewers, “You are being the disciple that Jesus talks about, the one who helps people in need.”

Father Christy introduced the winners of the annual “Spirit of St. Francis Award,” given by CCDOM to illuminate the good works of its volunteers and donors. The winners and their parishes include: Michael Bielawa, St. Elizabeth-St. Brigid, Far Hills-Peapack; Cheryl Gatti, St. Mary-Stony Hill; Joan Holmes, St. James, Basking Ridge; Lisa Hummel, St. Philip and St. James, Phillipsburg; Mary Lynn Pappas, Immaculate Conception, Somerville, and Knights of Columbus Council 6930, Our Lady of Lourdes, Whitehouse Stations.

The gala concluded with a prayer from Bishop James F. Checchio, filmed standing within the food pantry at New Brunswick’s Unity Square.

“There are corporal works of mercy going on all over our diocese,” he said. “[Catholic Charities] continues to be the beating heart of Christ for so many.”