CCS dinner honors those ‘who do not look away’
SALT LAKE CITY — Catholic Community Services of Utah’s annual awards dinner drew hundreds of benefactors from across the state to recognize those honored for their support of the nonprofit.
Among those attending were Bishop Oscar A. Solis; Monsignori Colin F. Bircumshaw and J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeriti of the Diocese of Salt Lake City; Father John Evans, the current vicar general; Father Ken Vialpando, vicar for clergy; and Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox, First Lady Abby Palmer Cox and their family. Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints included Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé and his wife, Valérie; First Counselor of the Presiding Bishopric W. Christopher Waddell and his wife, Carol; and Utah Area President Elder Kevin Pearson and his wife, June. Also attending were other clergy from the Catholic Church and other faith traditions.
Catholic Community Services operates several programs in Utah, including the Saint Vincent de Paul Dining Hall and Weigand Homeless Resources Center in Salt Lake City, and the Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank and Bridging the Gap program in the Ogden area. In Fiscal Year 2024, the dining hall provided more than 2,000 meals each day, the Weigand Center served 209 individuals each week day, and the food bank distributed more than 2.6 million pounds of food.
CCS also offers immigration services, including a refugee resettlement program and refugee foster care, among other programs.
CCS’ programs are unique because they “are services trying to get individuals out of the situations that they’re in,” said Randy Chappell, director of CCS’ Basic Needs programs, in a video shown at the dinner. “We don’t want to just provide services for help, we want to provide services where they can succeed and move forward in life.”
At the beginning of the dinner, Katherina Holzhauser, CCS Board of Trustees president, spoke about Pope Francis’ message from last year’s annual World Day of the Poor, which reflected on a text from the Book of Tobit that includes the exhortation “Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor.”
This call is not easy, Holzhauser said, but “the action of not turning away when we see the face of the poor, that is what are honoring tonight. You have not looked away. Catholic Community Services has not looked away.”
Over the past year, the dining hall has increased by 12 percent the number of meals served, the Weigand Center has seen an 80 percent increase in the number of clients, the St. Martha’s Baby Project has more than doubled the number of layettes given to mothers of newborns in need, and the food bank’s clients have increased by 13 percent, Holzhauser said.
In the face of this need, what she loves about the community is that “we come together from various faiths, communities and backgrounds to serve those less fortunate in our communities,” she said. “We help each other see and not look away.”
Volunteers of the Year
St. Martha’s Baby Project, SLC
St. Martha’s Baby Project Salt Lake City became part of CCS earlier this year; previously it was run by a group of volunteers. The project has given away more than 10,000 layettes since 1987.
“Each layette contains all of the essentials a mother needs to welcome a new life into the world, including onesies, diapers, bottles, swabs and other necessities,” said Carole Mikita, the dinner’s mistress of ceremonies.
Accepting the award on behalf of the project’s 43 volunteers were co-directors Judith Puhr and Lillian O’Neil.
At St. Martha’s Baby Project, “we are surrounded by angel volunteers with the commitment to make life better for mothers and their newborn babies born with less [than they need],” said O’Neil, who has been involved with the project for 33 years.
She said she often sees God’s hand at work; one year, when they were almost out of materials, they received more than 150 layettes collected by Utah Valley University in a donation drive; this year, when they were down to two bolts of fabric to make baby blankets, a woman donated more than $7,500 of material, she said.
Parish of the Year
St. Martin de Porres Parish
St. Martin de Porres parishioners “have definitely played a huge role in supporting the programs at CCS” by volunteering as a group at the St. Vincent de Paul dining hall each month, supporting the Gift of the Drummer program, and volunteering as individuals, Mikita said.
“And when they see a need, they help,” such as one volunteer, who noticed a person with threadbare pants, and went out and purchased a new pair for the individual. Another parishioner crochets warm hats for clients, she said.
The award was accepted by parishioner David Mullen and Fr. Dominic Briese, OP, pastor.
“I feel deep in my heart, honestly, that I am staring at the greatest preachers of the Word of God – all of you, because in your own way you’re doing more than just pronouncing words, you’re fulfilling the commandment that Jesus Christ gave us when he said, ‘I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was naked, you gave me something to wear; I was all alone and you came and visited me,’” Fr. Dominic said in his comments.
“The people that you’re honoring at St. Martin de Porres … care enough to show another human being that they are a child of God, and so you’re the preachers,” he added.
Partner of the Year
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a key part of the work of CCS from the very beginning,” Mikita said. For example, the LDS Church provides grants to order food for the dining hall, the food bank and individual refugee families, as well as grants from Deseret Industries to help provide clothing and home furnishings for refugee families and homeless individuals. Church missionaries volunteer at various locations and board members volunteer with various programs, she said.
“If there was a need over the years, whether it was funding for immigration services or equipment for the kitchen, the Church was the first one to step up,” she added. “… CCS would not be able to provide the services that it does without The Church of Jesus Christ’s immense assistance in every aspect of the agency.”
Accepting the award were Sharon Eubank, director of humanitarian services for the LDS Church, and Adam Moody, the Church’s Utah area humanitarian manager.
In her comments, Eubank said she sees the Gospel values of love, hope, compassion and dignity at work at CCS. “I am so grateful for the work that everyone in this room does,” she said. “And when Jesus Christ asks that beautiful question, ‘Which one of these was neighbor to the man who was in trouble, he was talking about you.”
Lifetime of Service
Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw
Msgr. Bircumshaw, who retired this year after 49 years of active ministry, served as the bishop’s designated representative to CCS for the past 13 years.
He “has led us well, providing gentle guidance and leadership to our executive director, board members and staff over the years,” Mikita said, adding that “many of our staff consider him not only a mentor but a friend.”
As he approached the podium to accept the award, Msgr. Bircumshaw received a standing ovation. His time with CCS was more of a privilege than a task, he said, noting that CCS is the charitable and service arm of the Bishop of Salt Lake City, whose three tasks are worship, teaching and service.
Jesus Christ put service first, Msgr. Bircumshaw said, noting that Matthew 25 gives the criteria for inheriting the Kingdom of God: feeding the hungry, caring for the sick and welcoming the stranger. “That’s CCS, every day,” he said.
Humanitarian of the Year
First Lady Abby Palmer Cox
First Lady Abby Palmer Cox focuses on “serving others and the wellbeing of children,” which “fits right in line with our programs here at CCS,” Mikita said, explaining that the Cox family used to serve a special Thanksgiving meal for CCS’ refugee families, spending time with them and “even used their designated family Christmas gift money to provide gifts for our families instead.”
“She has continued her involvement by secretly bringing the family in to serve dinner at St. Vinnie’s, and brings her Show Up Utah team in to volunteer as well,” Mikita said. “She isn’t above doing any task while she’s there either, including mopping the entire floor. She helps coordinate a winter sock drive through the governor’s office, and personally delivered the donations last year.”
After accepting the award, Cox said she could look out to those at the dinner “and see every one of you here that understands and values the worth of a soul – that we don’t look away, that we look for those who need us, that there are people who have great worth in every corner of this state, and that we can look out and find those children.”
At the close of the dinner Bishop Solis said the evening was a great blessing from God.
“Our Lord gathered us from our diverse backgrounds as a community, breaking bread in a spirit of unity and solidary, in one common mission – that is to love God and to serve each other. This is what CCS stands for,” he said, and urged those present to share the gifts of the warmth of God’s love and his peace with one another.
The ministries of CCS are not merely programs, he said. “This is faith in action; the word of God coming to life because of what you do. What a beautiful message to our world.”
He closed by thanking those present. “My brothers and sisters, I stand humbly before you to say, ‘Gee, you’re awesome,’” he said, to appreciative laughter from the audience. “You’re awesome. God loves you, and may God bless us all.”
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