Page 21 - Catholic Extension Magazine Winter 2019

Extension | Winter 2019 21

LEFT Louis Brossette, longtime Allendale resident, Haven House leader
and Our Lady of Blessed Sacrament parishioner is proud of his home,
parish and neighborhood.
BELOW Volunteers and residents pray together in Allendale.

Catholic Extension Connection
Catholic Extension has long been grant to help repair the parish hall
has shown that the power of car- connected to Allendale, the first roof. Parishioner Louis Brossette
ing relationships can transform neighborhood that McCarter trans- said,”We are so thankful to Catholic
not only a person but an entire formed. In 1998, shortly after CRI Extension. We pray for its donors.”
community. Now I see the world was established, Catholic Exten- The Diocese of Shreveport was
in a whole new light.” sion gave a $50,000 grant to Our founded in 1986. Five percent of
John Mark Willcox, director of Lady of Blessed Sacrament Cath- Shreveport’s population is Catho-
development and public relations olic Church to renovate its parish lic. Catholic Extension has given
for the diocese, wrote the nomi- hall. Located in the middle of Allen- $7.3 million (in today’s dollars) to
nation for McCarter for the award. dale, near CRI’s Friendship House, the diocese to build churches,
“Mack has created a connected- the parish has 175 families. This develop leaders and engage
ness and a strength of friendship year, we extended another $15,000 youth.
in our neighborhoods that is revo-
lutionary,” he said. “Mack is show-
ing residents how to get out of “Community Renewal has “We are creating environ-
poverty by reaching out to others.” developed a model that can sys- ments for positive relationships,”
tematically start, nourish and sus- he added. “We all have the ori-
Moving forward tain safe and loving communi- entation to go toward light and to
The success of CRI is now being ties with measurable results,” said improve our lives. Relationships
replicated in eight other cities in McCarter. "CRI has blazed the trail, are fundamental to who we are
the United States and in the Afri- so others can put the same princi- and how our society functions.”
can country of Cameroon. ples into practice." “We are called to go out into this
world and to love,” he said.