Brother Jason (l) and Baptist Pastor Darrell Alexander joined forces to grow and expand C-Hope ministries. The name can be thought of as “see hope,” a theme of their ministry.
Last summer nearly 300 people turned out for C-Hope’s Back-to-School Bash in Early County, Georgia. It will happen again later this summer.
Glenmary Brother Jason Muhlenkamp knows that the Early County School District has at least 30 percent of students from families struggling against poverty.
The students who came to the back-to-school bash receive what they need to have for success, things that they wouldn’t have otherwise: backpacks, school supplies, clothes and a meal. Brother Jason is inspired by a poem called “Cause I Ain’t Got a Pencil,” by Josh Dickerson. A young student mentions waking himself up, putting on dirty clothes for lack of clean laundry, getting his sister ready and eating a free breakfast at school, all for the ending: “Then when I got to class, the teacher fussed because I ain’t got a pencil.”
“Father Bishop [Glenmary’s founder] stressed that all the people in our county are our parishioners,” Brother Jason says. “Meeting the needs of our students, of our youth, is helping fulfill that mission.”
The pre-school-year party isn’t the only time C-Hope works to get supplies to students. It has a free closet of sorts to help students throughout the year.
Brother Jason knows that helping people across all faiths, or no faiths at all, can be a form of evangelization. Building relationships with students and parents, most of whom may not know any other Catholic than Brother Jason, shows them the Church’s commitment to the common good.
Brother Jason points out the need to be flexible with ministries. When Glenmary goes to a new area, there are plans, of course, but a major emphasis is placed on finding that community’s specific challenges.
“It’s a response to a need that was identified by the school, a need identified at community meetings,” Brother Jason says. “Once you see the need, you respond to that need. So, we’re very flexible, and very different in each mission.”
The school supply ministry is just one small facet of C-Hope’s work. C-Hope is an ecumenical ministry that helps people see the hope of Jesus Christ by meeting basic needs and sharing the good news through words and actions. The ministry is run by Brother Jason (chief financial officer) and Baptist Pastor Darrell Alexander, the chief executive. Other initiatives include a thrift store, food pantry, transitional homeless shelter, daily devotional gatherings, and financial literacy programs.
Working to help the youth is pivotal to Brother Jason, who also conducts prison ministry. “I’d rather minister to people while they’re young, and help them get their education, than minister to them in the jail cell,” he says.” But he’ll be there either way.
—John Stegeman