Mission of young Mennonites and Catholic hospital intertwine

By KATHLEEN NELSON

After graduating from high school in Ithaca, Michigan, Darren Benesh sought direction. A member of the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, Benesh, “didn’t know where I fit in and what I really liked. I didn’t want to go to college with nothing settled in my heart.”

After working on a farm for a couple years, he turned to his denomination’s service program with roots in the 1940s and found his purpose at Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut, part of Trinity Health Of New England.

“All of our volunteers enhance our mission, but these young men are on a mission of their own,” says Mary Liebig, manager of volunteer services for Trinity Health Of New England.

The partnership with Saint Francis is one of more than a dozen established by Christian Public Service, a Mennonite agency that originated during World War II. Its website says it was founded to provide “opportunities for conscientious objectors to serve their fellow men in lieu of military service.” Today, the agency fosters volunteer service for young churchmen and

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Dr. Chip Veal works in the TeleICU Command Center at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, part of Providence St. Joseph Health. Health systems rapidly expanded telehealth services early in the pandemic.