Mission Trip: Arlington/Baltimore 2020

Who are we?

We are seven Duquesne University undergraduate students, one graduate student, and a Spiritan Campus Minister who are preparing to travel to serve two communities and grow in our relationship with God by serving others. We are grateful to be able to continue the work done by previous Duquesne Cross-Cultural Mission Experiences (CCMEs). Like the many groups who have come before us, we will be supporting parish ministers in any way we can while also learning about the neighborhoods and community members. We will be putting our faith into action as we serve!

When and where are we going?

We will be traveling over our Spring Break (March 1-8).

•     In West Baltimore, we will serve in St. Edward’s Parish
•     In Arlington, we will serve in Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish

We will first be staying in Arlington at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish. Our Lady Queen of Peace is a historically African-American parish with a very involved congregation and a strong interest in social justice work. Arlington is in the middle of a transformation, so we will also be learning about the changes that brings to the parish. While there, we will assist in a few of their many ministries including a Matthew 25 free store where donated items are distributed to those in need at no cost to them. We will also help with their food pantry and serve lunch at a ministry to the homeless.

Then, we will load our vans to travel to Baltimore, MD where we will work with St. Edward’s Parish to renovate and repair their parish buildings. St. Edward's parish is resource-poor but welcoming and has many long-time attendees. While there, our group will assist with maintenance and upkeep for their parish buildings, including tasks like painting and moving furniture. We will also come to understand their parish community, who have overcome great obstacles of poverty in the West Baltimore area.

In both places, we will support Spiritans as they invest in communities for the long term. We will also learn from the wisdom and experience of the congregations and those who run the ministries we will serve.

How can you help?

All monies raised through our crowdfunding campaign will help both parishes we visit in different ways. Some of the funds will be used to get paint and construction supplies to assist St. Edward’s in Baltimore as well as to fund other needs of the parish. The rest of the money raised will help enhance our ministry efforts with Our Lady Queen of Peace.

We thank you in advance for anything you can contribute. We are so grateful for your help!

Spread the word!

We ask that you help us raise additional funds by sharing this with your friends and family as well. Our second biggest need is publicity for this crowd-funding project so that we can surpass our goal and support these ministries in West Baltimore and Arlington. You can share this page on any social media platform, or use the link above to send it by email.

We thank you for taking the time to learn about our Cross Cultural Mission Experience, and we look forward to sharing our experience with you on our daily blog!