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By Lindsay Steele The Catholic Messenger IOWA CITY — A few years ago, a group of St. Patrick Parish members studied Laudato Si’ during Lent. Pope Francis’ encyclical gave the group “a newfound respect for the interconnectedness of everything,” said Diane Platte, the parish’s social action committee chairperson. This Lent, the whole parish is celebrating that interconnectedness through ecological, stewardship, prayer and wellness challenges.

By Lindsay Steele The Catholic Messenger Helping ease food insecurity locally and abroad can be as simple as putting loose change into a cardboard bank. “Anyone can do this,” diocesan Social Action volunteer Loxi Hopkins said during a virtual Lunch and Learn session Feb. 2, which highlighted the upcoming Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl collection. “I think it’s great for kids in particular because it gives them an opportunity to learn about what’s happening in other countries and in their own neighborhoods.”

By Lindsay Steele The Catholic Messenger Each Lenten season, Catholics in the Diocese of Davenport drop coins and bills into Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl banks in an effort to help the poor and vulnerable locally and overseas. Last fall, Father David Brownfield, a priest of the Diocese of Davenport and a local CRS board member, had the opportunity to see the work of CRS up close in the Middle East. “I got to see how CRS takes an integral approach to giving aid to people.”

By Lindsay Steele The Catholic Messenger Thanks to the generosity of those who donated money to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl during the Lenten season, 18 organizations in the Diocese of Davenport are receiving grants to help with hunger-related causes. Altogether, parishes and individual contributors raised $68,421.66. CRS will use 75 percent of the funds for hunger programs worldwide, with 25 percent staying in the Diocese of Davenport.

By Lindsay Steele The Catholic Messenger A mother in Malawi, Africa, was in despair. Her newborn son’s weight had dropped from 6 pounds to 3 pounds, despite her efforts to fortify him through breastfeeding. She feared for his life but wasn’t sure what to do. CRS Rice Bowl representatives in the area came to her aid, offering rations of supplemental infant formula. Three months later, the baby boy was thriving.