Parish Roundup: New ministries for mental health, homelessness and food sustainability

Mental health ministry will soon be expanded in parishes in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. 

The church is not a democracy? Not so true in Minnesota. A Catholic church in Minneapolis is slated to close. That would not be much news, except this story indicates that the people of the parish, consisting of two merged churches, voted on the step. 

The legacy of racial segregation complicates a Chicago parish merger. 

Catholic and other community groups pledge to cut homelessness in Portland, Oregon, by 20 percent over the next five years. 

Parishes in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, will engage in a Lenten reflection on how Catholics can respond to the crisis in the church, with program materials provided by Renew International. 

In a church facing declining numbers, the pivotal group are Latino young people, notes a USA Today piece. 

Parishes in the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, support the local food movement. 

[Peter Feuerherd is a correspondent for NCR's Field Hospital series on parish life and is a professor of journalism at St. John's University, New York.]

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