Do you ever hesitate to open the news in the morning? Especially recently, I find that when I let the news come crowding in, I can just stare at the headlines and think, what is happening? How do I make sense of it?
I think we are all feeling a sense of uncertainty about the news these days, and that uncertainty very naturally gives rise to fear. Fear can lead us to close in on ourselves, to pull back, to protect our “stuff.” It’s an understandable response.
But our faith calls us to respond differently to uncertainty, not with fear but with hope. Over and over again in the Gospel, we’re invited to trust that God is already at work, even when the future feels unclear. We are called not to turn inward, but to focus outward, to respond to fear with love and to uncertainty with generosity.
This past Advent, almost 200 donors throughout the diocese responded to the Bishop’s Appeal for the Alleluia Fund for Outreach in just that way, offering generous gifts in support of neighbors near and far.
Over the next twelve months, hope will be made visible because of these gifts. Families will find shelter. Neighbors will receive nourishing meals. Students will gain access to education and new opportunities. In small but faithful ways, generosity becomes a counterweight to despair, a tangible witness that love is still being practiced in uncertain times.
Through the Alleluia Fund, our diocese partners with more than twenty nonprofit organizations addressing urgent needs across four focus areas: shelter and housing, food and personal care, education and workforce development, and international mission. Together, we live out the Gospel not as an abstract idea, but as a practical commitment to the well-being of our neighbors.
Close to home, families facing housing insecurity find stability through ministries such as Family Promise of Sussex County and Bergen County, St. Paul’s CDC in Paterson, The Hoboken Shelter, and Montclair Emergency Services for Hope. Survivors of domestic and sexual violence are met with safety and compassion at My Sister’s Lighthouse Resource Center in Newark, spaces where healing and new beginnings can take root.
Hunger and access to basic necessities remain pressing concerns throughout our diocese. Meal programs and food ministries, including Grace Community Services’ Breakfast Plus Program, St. Matthew Trinity’s Lunchtime Ministry in Hoboken, Union City’s Grace Church Saturday Lunch Program, and The Lighthouse Food and Social Work Services, serve thousands each year. Programs like North Porch Women’s and Infants Center quietly walk alongside parents, offering diapers and food during moments of deep vulnerability.
Education and opportunity are also essential expressions of hope. Adult learners build new skills through All The Way Up Adult Education Center and United Community Corporation. Children and youth are supported by organizations such as Haven of Hope for Kids and Greater Life Inc.’s Kidstitute Lifeline. Older adults find connection and continued learning through the Senior Resource Center in Chester.
The reach of the Alleluia Fund extends beyond our diocesan boundaries through international partnerships supporting Good Shepherd Academy in Cameroon, STEM education for students in Kenya through The GRACE Project, and immigration assistance through Jesus Love House Mission. These relationships remind us that we are part of a worldwide Church, bound together by faith and shared responsibility.
Each partner serves a distinct mission, yet all share a common purpose, offering hope where it is most needed. Alleluia Fund grants often support essential, behind-the-scenes work, including staffing, food, educational materials, and emergency services. This is the steady ministry that sustains lives day after day.
None of this is possible without generosity. Whether you contributed last Advent or are learning about the Alleluia Fund for the first time, your prayers, engagement, and support matter deeply. In a world that often feels uncertain, these acts of generosity are signs of God’s love made visible.
To learn more about the Alleluia Fund and how you can take part in this shared ministry, visit dioceseofnewark.org/giving/alleluia.
Together, even in uncertain times, we bear witness to hope, choosing compassion over fear and generosity over retreat.
