BOSTON -- When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Catholic Charities began preparing for an influx of Afghan refugees to the Boston area. Since then, parishes have stepped up to help them welcome these families and groups of individuals to their new homes.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston (CCAB) has a variety of services for immigrants and refugees of any country, such as legal services and English classes. But they recognized that a greater number of Afghans would come in the wake of the Taliban takeover. Evacuees coming to the U.S. stayed on military bases in various states while they waited to hear where they could be taken in.

CCAB partnered with other local faith-based organizations, such as Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Jewish Community Relations Council, to raise funds and coordinate resources for Afghan refugees. They also appealed to parishes for help. Some joined CCAB's POWIR program (Parishes Organizing to Welcome Immigrants and Refugees), and some banded with other communities in order to recruit more volunteers and draw from a wider pool of funds and resources.

One of those parishes was St. Julia's in Weston, which had collaborated with CCAB in the past to give financial support to Ukrainian and Eritrean families. Now, as a POWIR parish, they have welcomed three Afghan men, providing them with material, emotional, and administrative support as they settle in a new country.

Colm McGarry, St. Julia's pastoral and youth minister, said the community is "providing the kind of support that it's not possible for Catholic Charities to provide," given the huge number of Afghans arriving and the small number of case workers available.

McGarry said they were able to become a POWIR site because the parishioners decided to support that effort.

"It was a two-line article in the bulletin. It was not a lot, but people saw it and said, 'I want to help.' And it grew from there. It's a very small seed that got a lot bigger," he said.

When parishioner David Donovan read about St. Julia's endeavor, he saw it as an opportunity to live out the values that Jesus taught, sharing the Good News not only through words but through actions.

"I was really excited to contribute in any way I could," he said.

The parish used the online tool SignUpGenius to coordinate the donation of items and delegate tasks to prepare for the refugees' arrival. Donovan said he was "blown away" by the outreach, as the community took care of about 50 items and tasks in the space of two or three days.

"It was not a lot of time for transition and turnaround, and the community rose up and got everything done within that short period of time," Donovan said.

A mother and son, Heidi and Konrad Harding, have co-chaired the organizing group. McGarry said the pastor, Father Mark Mahoney, has also shown great leadership in this effort. At one point, when one of the men needed dental treatment, Father Mahoney said they would cover the expense so it could be taken care of right away.

St. Julia's parishioners met via Zoom on Jan. 13 and spoke with the three Afghan men about how to meet their current needs. Chief among them were assistance with resume writing and job hunting. All three men need to find employment and want to send money back to their families as soon as possible.

"These people are missing their families very much," McGarry told The Pilot.

The Zoom meeting started with a reading of the story of the Good Samaritan. Speaking to The Pilot the following day, Donovan said that when the Good Samaritan found the robbers' victim, "he didn't ask him for a social security number or what country he was from. He just knew that he needed help, and he helped him."

McGarry noted that St. Julia Parish has many faith-sharing groups, and said their being a POWIR site is "an extension of our sacramental life."

"Without the sacramental life of the Church, nothing like this could happen," he said.

The Paulist Center and St. Cecilia Parish in Boston have also collaborated to welcome Afghan families. One family arrived in December 2021, and they are now in the process of receiving another.

The Paulist Center already had an Immigrant Advocacy Group and was looking for ways to be more directly involved with helping immigrants. They initially had Haitian and Central American refugees in mind, but events in Afghanistan prompted them to shift their focus.

They formed a core team to act as "first responders" and check in with the family about their needs; a finance committee to raise and manage funds to support the family; a volunteer recruiting committee; and a network of about 70 volunteers.

Ed Marakovitz, who coordinates the Immigrant Advocacy Group and has experience working with nonprofits, said it was "the easiest fundraising I've ever done."

In fact, he said, they ended up not needing many of the steps used in a traditional fundraising plan. After putting out a call for donations through emails, bulletin notices, and Mass announcements, people showed "amazing" generosity in contributing financially or otherwise. One donor paid for a four-bedroom apartment for the first family, and a St. Cecilia parishioner owns the duplex where the new family will stay.

In addition to Catholic Charities, the Paulist Center has also worked with the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) to learn more about Afghan culture. ICNA has assisted them with translation services as well as guidance regarding what kinds of food and furniture the newcomers would be used to.

When the first family arrived on Dec. 23, 2021, a welcoming committee made sure they had a furnished apartment, warm clothing, a stocked refrigerator, and a halal meal awaiting them.

Volunteers have helped with all kinds of needs, from registering the children for school to hosting fun activities. Recently, the family wanted to see the ocean and go sledding, so four Paulist Center families took them to Castle Island.

Back at St. Julia's, Donovan said he likes that his community "came together to help a group of people, and is willing to do that again if need be."

"If we could get more of that empathy, if we could get more communities coming together to help people, imagine if you could do that in (a larger) scale, how much better the world might be," Donovan said.