Meet Sister Mary Rafqa Boulos and Sister Marie Paul Lockerd, Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, who joined Dr. Peter Cooke, also pictured, as part of the medical team at Cristo Rey Community Center’s Family Health Center in Lansing two years ago. On a daily basis the team brings the love of Jesus Christ to the most vulnerable in our community – and all helped by your generous giving to the Diocesan Services Appeal. Thank you. God bless you.

“The Sisters of Mercy are an absolute gift to us all,” says Joe Garcia, Chief Executive of Cristo Rey Community Center to Elizabeth Hansen in Faith Magazine, the official publication of the Diocese of Lansing.

“You want a good example of what our faith can bring, what Jesus does for us? (They) are a treasure. … helping God’s people regardless of whether they’re Catholic or not.”

The team at the Family Health Center kept nearly 11,000 appointments last year with over 90 percent of those patients either being on Medicaid or Medicare, or uninsured. The Family Health Center is just one of the many works of mercy provided by Cristo Rey Community Center which is situated in north Lansing.

The Diocesan Services Appeal or DSA is an annual appeal which is used to sustain the ongoing, day-to-day work of the Church across the Diocese of Lansing. Contributions are put to work, right away, in a multitude of ministries and activities that offer direct assistance to individuals and families and to our parishes, schools, and affiliated Catholic organizations.

The theme of this year’s DSA is “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving”. The text, taken from the Book of Psalms, is aimed at reminding each of us of how we are to respond to the many gifts we have been given by God, including that great gift of His Son, truly present in the Holy Eucharist.

To read the full story in FAITH, go to: https://faithmag.com/theyre-all-gods-kids

To learn more about this year’s DSA or to donate to it, go to: https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/DSA