At the very beginning of this trip we impressed on our students that we go not to accomplish a task but to be a community that meets other communities and walks with them and shares our faith with them. That's not always easy to see. We know there is an entire community dedicated to St. Ambrose and Hales Franciscan and Kenwood United Church of Christ and St. Vincent de Paul and St. Benedict the Moor. We also know that those people are committed to reaching out to the poor and marginalized in their neighbourhoods. We just joined them for a few days and walked beside them. We ended the service component of our trip this afternoon by joining some remarkable people. We joined Fr. Francis and his almost quixotic quest to keep the parish school open as a lifeline in a troubled section of the city. We joined the loyal workers at the St. Benedict the Moor Fish Fry and entered into their family circle. And most especially we joined with Emmit and Rita and listened to their stories of overcoming segregation in the Catholic Church. It was a good afternoon more so for the people we met than the fish we served, the church we cleaned or the school we decorated.
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