Sacred Heart is a “beacon of light” depressed area of Mississippi, says Father Michael Barth, a Missionary Servant of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarian). The Diocese of Jackson has the lowest percentage of Catholics in the country. As a result, many of its outreaches are geared toward social services, planting the seeds of the Faith where none exist, and showing the local community that God cares for them through the Church. Catholic Extension Website
Every afternoon at 5:30, Evelyn Mixon picks up her two sons at the after-school program at Sacred Heart Church’s Family Center in Camden, Miss.
Evelyn, who works at the tax assessor’s office in Canton, about 20 minutes down the road, used to have to scramble to find good after-school care for the boys after the Boys’ and Girls’ Club there shut down. Now Brian, 10, and Jay, 14, are picked up by a van after classes. Outside of football season, Jay helps other students with their homework.
Sacred Heart is a “beacon of light” to the families in this economically depressed area of Mississippi, says Father Michael Barth, a Missionary Servant of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarian) who is pastor of the church. Father Barth oversaw the conversion of a former Catholic elementary school into the Family Center six years ago, and is thrilled at the hive of activity that it has become.
The center offers a meals program for seniors, a credit union, and places to get information on jobs and affordable housing. In a state like Mississippi, where one out of five residents is living in poverty, it offers meat-and-potato services to all who visit.
The Mixons are grateful to the center’s organizers and staff. “They are truly servants,” Evelyn says.
At the northern end of Madison County, Camden is a rural crossroads with few jobs outside of trucking and logging. “Basically, we have nothing out here,” says Father Barth. Unemployment in the state stands at nearly 8 percent. Most of the town’s residents have to travel to population centers like Jackson for work, “and often, they’re not great jobs,” says the pastor. Many spend a large portion of whatever they make to get there.
A ‘welcoming place’
The Diocese of Jackson has the lowest percentage of Catholics in the country. As a result, many of its outreaches are geared toward social services, planting the seeds of the Faith where none exist, and showing the local community that God cares for them through the Church.
Holy Names of Jesus and Mary Sister Anne Brooks operates a low-cost clinic in the impoverished Delta region, while Divine Word Brother Matt Connors counsels young people away from gangs and crime in Clarksdale, the Birthplace of the Blues.
Two years ago, grants from the Trinitarians, Catholic Extension and other sources enabled the Camden parish to build a new and expanded church. With the new building, and the Family Center next door, the parish has become a church in the marketplace, as it were, serving the community through its compassionate outreach.
The center “is seen as a welcoming place, and it’s broken down a lot of age-old animosity between Catholics and non-Catholics in the area,” Father Barth says. More than two dozen candidates have been welcomed into the church over the last two years, he reports.
“It’s a great evangelizing tool if people recognize you’re interested in them as a whole person, in the needs of their families and children,” says Father Barth. “It may pique the interest of those in a very non-Catholic area to at least come see what we’re about.”
This pastor is very grateful for the support from Catholics all over the country to keep his mission open. “It offers us the ability to do those key things which move us in a growth position rather than just maintenance,” he says. “We’re not just circling the wagons and hoping for the best.”
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