World News
Massachusetts parish marks milestone of 100,000th sandwich for homeless
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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (CNS) -- Holy Cross Parish in Springfield recently served its 100,000th sandwich to the homeless. "This started as an outgrowth, four years ago, of our JustFaith ministry here," said Deacon Bill Toller. JustFaith is a 30-week formation program in Catholic social ministry. "We had a lot of unstructured ideas about how we would help the homeless," he said. Since then, the small group connected with New England Christian Ministry and started the Sandwich Ministry at Holy Cross. Each Sunday, after the 11 a.m. Mass, volunteers gather to make sandwiches that are distributed later in the day to the homeless. "We have no sign-ups, although we have some regulars who come each week," said Deacon Toller. They began by making 25 sandwiches and now make 600 each week. Deacon Toller said it has been amazing to watch so many people embrace this ministry in so many ways. "For me, the joy of this is going downtown and the interaction with the people for whom we provide the meals. They are so incredibly grateful. And for me it is an absolute direct response to what the Gospel calls us to do," he said in an interview with The Catholic Observer, newspaper of the Springfield Diocese.
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