SIMPSONVILLE—St. Mary Magdalene Church has formed a new ministry for military personnel.
The Knights of Columbus Council 10819 Fourth Degree Holy Spirit Assembly 2890 has assumed responsibility for the program at the request of Father Teofilo Trujillo, pastor of St. Mary Magdalene and a member of the council.
The Military Support Ministry was created in June and made official in September, according to Ronald Searl, recorder for Council 10819. The outreach will offer spiritual support to active-duty military, serve veterans and their families, and provide decedent support to military families, he said.
The ministry doesn’t have a count on the number of active duty parishioners, “however, nine parish members have signed intake forms so far, and indicated they or their family members are currently active duty,” Searl said in an e-mail to The Miscellany.
The guidelines will be consistent with the Knights of Columbus, which focus on charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.
According to the mission statement, they will offer spiritual and material support to all service personnel and their families who belong to St. Mary Magdalene and are active duty, deployed, or returning from deployment.
The effort also includes benefits counseling to parishioners who are veterans and need help navigating the Veterans Administration, or to the survivors of deceased veterans who need assistance with decedent benefits.
Not only do they serve their country, the military has been the source of many a vocation. Last year, almost 10 percent of the priestly ordinations in the United States were men who had served in the military, and another 10 percent were from military families, according to the Archdiocese for the Military Services website.