The outreach and impact of Catholic Relief Services Metuchen doesn’t only extend to the four corners of the diocese, but to every corner of the globe. From Africa to South America to cyberspace, new initiatives are putting the local corps of volunteers on the map.

Led by Father Joseph Kerrigan, who also serves as diocesan director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and parochial vicar in St. Bartholomew Parish, East Brunswick, the CRS Metuchen team was formed in the diocese to advance the work of Catholic Relief Services, the official overseas relief and development arm of the Church in the United States. CRS serves more than 62 million people in more than 90 countries around the world.

To help keep Metuchen Catholics engaged in the important mission of CRS, both locally and internationally, the group recently launched a comprehensive website, www.crsmetuchen.org.

Noting that CRS Metuchen is comprised of volunteers and the group has no physical meeting place, he said the website will be a way to exchange information and "make things happen."

"It’s our home base in cyberspace," Father Kerrigan explained. ". . . When we discovered that two of our 20 members found out about CRS Metuchen through the national CRS website, we realized that if we want more people to find out about us, we need to have our own site."

The website, which can be accessed directly or through the diocesan site – www.diometuchen.org – took about eight weeks to put together and mirrors the national CRS site in its look and content. Local CRS volunteer Ida Favis and her husband, Billy, a web programmer, were largely responsible for getting the site up and operational.

A member of St. Bartholomew Parish, Ida Favis hopes the new site inspires more people to get involved with CRS projects, which she says have greatly enriched her life.

"There’s something for everyone – kids, religious educators, pastors," Father Kerrigan stated. "Our goal is to make it the go-to site for any international issues and the diocese’s unofficial peace and justice site."

Frequently updated, www.crsmetuchen.org offers news, an explanation of current CRS campaigns and grants, a list of congressional representatives and detailed information about the agency’s Global Solidarity projects.

The site also encourages greater involvement in Operation Rice Bowl, the annual Lenten program. Seventy-five percent of the funds raised from ORB go directly to CRS development projects overseas, while the remaining 25 percent remains in the diocese for local use.

"ORB is the engine that runs the whole operation, not only from a financial standpoint but the idea of prayer and fasting and learning," Father Kerrigan said. "Currently, only 25 of our 108 parishes are really involved in ORB . . . There is enough information on the new website to completely run an ORB program in your parish, or a Bible study group or other organization."

It is because of proceeds from Operation Rice Bowl that CRS Metuchen will be able to undertake several tactical Global Solidarity Projects in upcoming months, as well as finance the diocese’s multifaceted, long-term Global Solidarity Partnership with the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima in Guatemala. Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski is expected to lead a delegation of CRS volunteers and Catholic Charities employees there in the early part of 2004.

The partnership with Guatemala will provide opportunities for project support, education, exchange visits, faith sharing and advocacy in the Metuchen Diocese on behalf of the world’s poor and marginalized.

But despite the assistance the diocese hopes to offer the struggling nation, Msgr. William Benwell, vicar general and moderator of the curia, is quick to point out that the upcoming trip and continued relationship is not one-sided.

"The goal of this program is that it be mutually beneficial to our diocese and the [Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima]," said Msgr. Benwell, who will be part of the delegration. "We don’t see this as an act of charity . . . We have the financial resources and expertise to help the people of Guatemala, but they can, in turn, help to make us better disciples of Christ."

Msgr. Benwell also said he hopes the partnership encourages Metuchen Catholics to develop a greater vision of the global Church, and inspire members of the diocese to become more actively involved in their faith. The trip, he noted, is only the beginning. "It’s the first step in what will hopefully be a long and fruitful relationship," he stated.

To prepare for the journey, the CRS Metuchen Global Solidarity Action Unit has done extensive planning for the past year and has designated Catholic Charities as the lead diocesan agency in implementing the Global Solidarity Partnership.

Father Kerrigan said some of the main issues of concern that will be addressed during the trip abroad are food security, healthcare, women and children, education, small business development and peace building. He noted that the nation has been plagued by years of civil war, which has resulted in declining economic and social conditions.

CRS Metuchen is in the process of actively researching USAID, the government agency providing U.S. economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide, to make sure tax dollars are being used properly and that the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima is receiving its fair share, Father Kerrigan added.

In promoting reciprocal partnerships between people in the diocese and people overseas, CRS Metuchen encourages U.S. Catholics to be open to what they receive by being in this relationship, not only what they can offer to a struggling country.

"By entering into partnership with an attitude of humility, we undergo a transformation in our own lives as we learn about other people seemingly so different from us, but essentially alike because of our common humanity," the CRS Metuchen website states.

The Global Solidarity Partnership was inspired by the virtue of solidarity defined in the 1997 U.S. bishops’ statement as ". . . action on behalf of the one human family, calling us to help overcome the divisions in our world."

CRS Metuchen will span four continents to hone essential skills in preparation for the ongoing partnership in Guatemala. Last month, $11,500 in local CRS grant money was awarded for the following endeavors:

· $3,000 to the Colombia Food Bank for Internally Displaced Persons, Espinal Diocese, Colombia – Volunteers will advocate for human rights in Colombia and try to cultivate a relationship with the bishop there. "They have similar issues as Guatemala," Father Kerrigan explained.

· $2,500 for the Slovakia Health Services Exchange between Catholic Charities in the diocese and Charitas Diocese of Spis, Slovakia – The funding will allow a staff member from each social services agency to visit the other in early 2004. In addition, a grant of $1,000 has been extended to Charitas Spiš for use in a regional hospice, a walk-in medical center and a youth center. "We really want to promote the connection between Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services," Father Kerrigan said. "And what better way to do this then to practice global solidarity between our own staffers and the Slovakian equivalent."

· $2,000 for the Center for Migrant Youth, Manila, Philippines — The center is a "welcome shed" in the city for provincial street vagrants, ages 15-20, who had been displaced in the city and abused by city-dwellers. It provides these embittered migrant youths with temporary shelter, meals, education opportunities and a taste of community life. The $2000 grant will be used for the Center’s education and daily sustenance programs. Father Kerrigan said it was important to fund a project in the Philippines since "Filipinos are a rising force in Metuchen. We wanted to acknowledge that Asians will play a prominent role in the future of the diocese."

· $2,000 for the Juansa Bakery Project, Ghana – This is an example of the "classic CRS self-sufficiency project," Father Kerrigan stated. The grant will assist a group of women get their bakery business off the ground.