Raised a Baptist, Robert Price didn’t quite get the whole saint thing. So, when he and his wife, Angela, came across a statue of St. Francis at their local lawn and garden center in March 2020, he knew little about the Saint from Assisi. Yet, the statue intrigued him – even more so after Angela shared what she knew about Francis and why he seemed to matter to so many people.
Around this time last year, COVID-19 was mostly an ominous-sounding word hinting at a danger that the world was just beginning to discover. As the numbers climbed, healthcare workers watched anxiously and prepared, while scientists scrambled to learn more about this disease. In March 2020, none of us were sure what the virus was capable of. Into this risky and uncertain situation moved the 1908th Medical Detachment of the U.S. Army Reserve, based at Topeka, Kansas. Mobilized as part of the Urban Augmented Medical Task Force, they spent nearly four months in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts providing behavioral mental health support to civilian patients and front-line healthcare workers in local hospitals. One of those soldiers was Sgt. Donald Holliday, a behavioral health social worker and an employee of Saint Francis Ministries.
Welcome to the first edition of our redesigned Hi-Lites electronic magazine, or e-zine! You'll find 40+ pages of compelling stories, thought-provoking articles and highlight of people who are making a difference.
Child welfare workers often face significant stress as they do their work, sometimes resulting in physical and psychological impacts. It’s important that Saint Francis Ministries and organizations like ours offer education and support to help employees manage the challenges inherent in this field.
Fatherhood FIRE classes begin in April, and the Saint Francis fatherhood team is excited to bring education, support and hope to fathers and families. Classes are free, and you don't need a referral to participate!
It’s been said that “timing is everything.” Consider how often a chance encounter has altered the direction of a life – or lives? Kim Johnson never saw it coming, yet five years ago she embarked on a journey that has provided hope and empowerment to dozens of youths in foster care - while healing herself along the way.
Joseph’s younger sister, Vanessa, passed away four days after giving birth in December 2018. At her death, her two daughters from a previous relationship went to live with their birth father’s family. Four days after her mother passed, Alexis turned 10 years old. The girls entered foster care in January 2018, and in April, they came to live with Joseph and Tonya as a kinship placement. None of their lives would be the same – and yet, they were all the better for it.
Every morning, Jim Zamrzla heads out the door to work on the 5,000 acres he and Stephanie farm near Holyrood, Kansas. They raised three boys and a girl on that land, each of them learning the importance of chipping in and helping out to support the needs of the family. So, when their daughter and youngest child, Taylor, prepared to leave home, the couple wondered just how much their lives would change – and how quiet their house would soon become.
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