Lifetime Preparation for Today’s Mission

Two days after Jim Kelly (right) retired from the State Department, he began to serve two days a week at the Lamb Center in Fairfax as a member of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC). The center — a daytime, drop-in shelter for the poor and the poor in spirit — is supported by 22 area churches of many denominations.
After volunteering at the Lamb Center, on retreats and in support groups, for more than two years, Kelly earned the position of IVC Regional Director for Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia last May.
As of August, 15 new Ignatian volunteers, six new IVC spiritual mentors and 10 more service project partnerships had begun serving the region. Volunteers range from nurses, accountants and managers to homemakers, lawyers and educators. New spiritual mentors include a Jesuit priest, a Dominican sister, and lay men and women. The Corps has formed partnerships with the D.C. Central Kitchen, St. Martin de Porres Senior Center, Arlington/Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless, the Arlington Diocese’s Prison Ministry and Migration and Refugee Services, and Samaritan Ministries of Greater Washington, a joint initiative of over 40 Episcopalian churches.
Kelly said that while these statistics appear impressive, they do not capture the relationships volunteers have formed with those they serve, and the moments of peace and happiness found by people who have been consistently rejected by society. Ignatian volunteers know such moments, Kelly said. They have a lifetime of preparation to draw from as they go about today’s mission of service and spirituality.
For more information about the Ignatian Lay Volunteer Corps go to www.ilvc.org or call 1-888-831-4686.