November 26, 2024

Diana Pinto – Executive Director, South Central Los Angeles Ministry Project (SC LAMP)

SC LAMP is a co-sponsored ministry of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus

In October, I attended the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Convening in Maryland. This global humanitarian foundation aims to improve the lives of individuals living in poverty. The convening brought its grantees together with an opportunity to meet other “lightworkers,” as I call those that serve people through their convictions of love, kindness, justice, and hope. There were many “lightworkers” present. Some represented small agencies, some large, but all represented hope.

We heard Sr. Eva Marie Lumas, SSS, speak about centering equity in our work. Her reflection was inspirational, and two statements that stayed with me. She said, accept yourself as an intentional creation, and that we have gifts that have been entrusted to us. What powerful declarations. Her words remained with me because we don’t hear this enough. Some of us grew up in families that shared these sentiments, while others did not. How can we teach children this concept if we never knew we were intentional creations? We can’t; we must be taught it, shown it, and then, we can believe it.

At South Central LAMP, we do this daily. Our mission is to help those we serve to see themselves as intentional creations with gifts entrusted to them. We bring forth their potential through our programs and support. I share this with you in the hope that it brings you the same faith and sense of pride it did to me. In some way, we can all contribute to someone’s understanding of their value to society.