A Passing of the Torch
The Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary are pleased to announce that Mike Gilchrist is the new Director of Financial Assistance at the Joseph House Crisis Center. He succeeds Dave Heininger, who passed away on September 11, 2025.
Mike has been volunteering at the Crisis Center since 2023. He worked closely with Dave, who had a wealth of experience to share, especially regarding our financial assistance program. In his time at the Joseph House, Mike has learned much about our ministry and gotten to know the other volunteers. He was the person Dave picked to be his successor, and we have the same confidence in Mike’s ability.
We are grateful that Mike agreed to serve in his new role. The transition over to his leadership has been remarkably smooth and seamless. The Crisis Center remains in good hands!
Below are some of Mike’s thoughts about serving in this challenging but very rewarding ministry:
At 7:30 a.m. on a cold and rainy Tuesday morning, more than 20 people wearing jackets and hats for warmth are queued outside of the Joseph House Crisis Center. Some sit alone on a bench outside of the Crisis Center, some are with their spouse. Some brave the cold with their young children.
They have come seeking financial help from the Crisis Center for overdue electric bills, threats of eviction from their apartments, lack of water service, and other emergencies. They, the Crisis Center’s “clients,” all search for hope.
Our greeter ushers today’s clients into the Crisis Center where they find welcome shelter from the rain and cold. In the waiting room they see pictures on the walls speaking words of faith, hope, and love. There is a picture of a loving family caring for an infant, a sign that reads “faith is not knowing what the future holds but knowing who holds the future,” a statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus Christ, and Jesus himself hanging from a Crucifix.
Volunteer interviewers are waiting to talk to these folks-in-need and help address their situations. Before this work begins, Sister Virginia leads us all in prayer. Then, interviewers begin individually talking to clients in private interview rooms. They compassionately assess the situation, empathize while hearing about desperate situations, offer advice, and give support. Often, they pray with the person or persons in need.
Most importantly, they try to strengthen their client’s faith and hope through their loving presence.
We who work at the Joseph House Crisis Center recognize faith, hope, and most importantly, love as our guiding principles.
A faith in God, his providence, and his mercy. A hope in God’s constant loving presence, in Christ’s image always hidden in our neighbor, and in human solidarity. A love which underpins all that we do, and which guides our faith. And, as Jesus taught us through his cross, a love sacrificial in nature.
Each day I pray for a God-graced increase in faith, hope, and love for all of us at the Crisis Center; all we serve, all who work here. An increase of faith, hope and love that will allow us to actualize Christ in action through every encounter that we have.