By Marvin Vann-Griffith
This summer , I'll be living and serving at Annunciation House in El Paso as a volunteer from July 15 to at least July 31, with an option to stay until August 15 or 29.
My service could take multiple forms, including cleaning and preparing spaces, preparing food, registering guests, and helping guests prepare for transportation to other locales. While the majority of guests speak Spanish, a growing number from Brazil, Haiti, and parts of Africa speak Portuguese and some French, so my language skills may well be put to use.
The New York Times reports that “scenes of overcrowding and desperation have been unfolding in recent weeks along the length of the border." Migrants, the report continues, “are “fleeing economic ruin, violence and the effects of climate change.”
Though that report is recent, the cry of refugees at our border for help and shelter is not.
So what is Annunciation House?
It's a ministry founded in the late 70s by a group of young Catholic adults who heeded the Gospel's call to serve and minister to the poor. The group quickly realized that the need for food, shelter, housing and medical care was the greatest among El Paso's undocumented community.
Since its founding, Annunciation House has opened several other shelters and service centers, and helps immigrants and refugees, documented or not.
Annunciation House is run entirely by volunteers, and the work is funded through donations.
I am asking the people of St. Christopher’s to support me in this work. This could take multiple forms: praying for me and the other volunteers and guests of Annunciation House, participating in weekly Skype sessions so I can stay in contact with our community, reading my online blog, and/or, contributing financially online to Annunciation’s work via the link: https://annunciationhouse.org/donate/.
If you can contribute through prayer and/or financially, please let me know via email (marvin.vanngriffith@gmail.com) and sign the card in the church narthex on the Sundays of July 2nd and 9th. You are much appreciated.