Callers have asked about how parishes can provide help to federal employees during the government shut-down. Of course, many parishes are providing assistance to federal employee parishioners from the parish directly or through the parish St. Vincent de Paul chapter. For federal employees in Jefferson County, assistance also is being provided through the area community ministries and other agencies. It is suggested that people seeking help call the Metro United Way Hotline at 211, and they will be directed to the appropriate community ministry or other social service agency. In Louisville, St. Vincent de Paul’s Open Hand Kitchen at 1026 South Jackson St. is open seven days a week for lunch at noon and at 5:00 p.m. for dinner. Families may also stop by the food pantry from 9:00 a.m. until noon. For parishes outside Jefferson County, if you are seeking more information about community resources, please be in touch with Lucio Caruso at Catholic Charities, 502-637-9786 or lcaruso@archlou.org. Let’s pray that this ends soon. In the meantime, if you become aware of other resources or community-wide events, please let us know, and we will try to get the word out.