{"id":50,"date":"2011-02-27T05:57:44","date_gmt":"2011-02-27T15:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/officeforsocialministry.org\/?p=50"},"modified":"2016-09-21T00:13:26","modified_gmt":"2016-09-21T00:13:26","slug":"pearl_bates_outreach_coordinator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/officeforsocialministry.org\/pearl_bates_outreach_coordinator\/","title":{"rendered":"Pearl Bates, Outreach Coordinator"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. John Apostle, Oahu
\nhttp:\/\/www.sjmililani.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Pearl
Pearl Bates at her desk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t stay detached\u201d<\/i>, laughs Pearl as she scurries around her crowded office at St. John Apostle. \u201cIf I help one person I feel good.\u201d<\/i> Retired from a career in civil service with the army, airforce and navy , Pearl is the Outreach Coordinator at St. John Apostle Catholic parish in Mililani. Her office, squeezed in between the parish pre-school and the church, is literally stacked floor to ceiling with toys for Christmas, boxes of food, and household items. As she conducts this interview between phone calls, she keeps her hands busy, packing sanitary kits to donate to a homeless shelter on the Waianae Coast.<\/p>\n

At St. John Apostle, the Parish Outreach Coordinator position includes (but is not limited tot), providing ministry to the homebound, assisting grieving parishioners in planning funeral services,\u00a0 managing the food pantry, and acting as intake manager for Helping Hands Hawaii<\/a>. \u201cMost of those we assist are not members of the parish.\u00a0 I know that there are people in our community who need help, but won\u2019t ask. I make jokes a lot and try to make people feel comfortable about stopping by my office.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n