IVC Stories
Curing the Sick and Healing the Hopeless
Dr. James Goedert retired from a 36-year career looking for ways to defeat the deadliest diseases of our time. As an IVC volunteer, he is still working to save lives, especially those suffering from poverty and mental illness.
Welcoming Strangers from the Sea
Rosemary Chang is fluent in the salty vernacular of those who travel the high seas. They’re not sailors, she instructs, they’re seafarers. And it’s not captain of the ship — it’s master of the ship. They’re oilers, fitters, ship engineers, shipmates. She has come to...
Welcoming Strangers from the Sea
Rosemary Chang is fluent in the salty vernacular of those who travel the high seas. They’re not sailors, she instructs, they’re seafarers. And it’s not captain of the ship — it’s master of the ship. They’re oilers, fitters, ship engineers, shipmates. She has come to...
Finding Consolation in God’s Forgiveness
by Erin Benson I was recently asked to give a talk on the issue of simplicity. The topic is close to my heart and usually brings a lot of energy and joy when I share with others how simplicity can be applied as a matter of faith in our lives. But as I was preparing...
Discerning a Year of Service in IVC
As the IVC community begins a new year of service, we turned to IVC New England Regional Director Dave Hinchen to get a few thoughts on discerning the call to serve at IVC. Hinchen, a former Jesuit priest, has spent his life in service, beginning with the Peace Corps...
Volunteer’s Life of Service Leads to Life of Faith
Most Ignatian Volunteers come to IVC seeking to live their faith through service. But Lucy Howell came to IVC to find her faith amid her service. Howell had always volunteered — PTA, classroom parent, Cub Scouts, community organizations, church. Her service eventually...
Saying Yes: Choosing Action Over Indifference
by Tiffany Nelms Severely disabled, 9-year-old Sara had been denied medical care and was alienated by her community in Latin America. Her mother, hoping to find a cure for her daughter, crossed the desert between the United States and Mexico with Sara on her back. ...
How I Followed Two Fathers to a Life of Service
by Al Rowley Faith of our fathers, holy faith. It’s a refrain that echoes in my life, where two fathers — my dad, Allan Rowley, Sr., Esq., and my uncle, Father James Colford, S.J. — handed down to me a living faith. My uncle was insightful and funny and always ready...
Denver Cafe Upends Soup Kitchen Stereotype
At Denver’s SAME Café, no day is ever the same. The menu changes almost daily, depending on what’s come in fresh from local organic growers. Prices aren’t set on the menu, either. As for the clientele — it’s typical to see a business-suited customer lunching next to...