The church I attend here (every now and then, actually) supports the St. Vincent de Paul store and food bank, Aid for Friends (homeless shelter), a counseling service for marrieds, singles, and actually anyone with a problem, a k-8 school, two mission churches (one on an Indian reservation), and various other social agencies (including visiting the women's prison here in town). There are three churches -- two on the National Register and the other one of those unworkable "modern" designs. The three parishes have been combined into one and it's trying to find the wherewithal to consolidate into one church.

There is one priest fulltime and one halftime priest for 1,300 families in town and about 10,000 other people scattered around about 600 square miles. There are also two lay deacons, but most of the work is done by the laity.

The local University's student ministry has had Mass once in the last six months -- no priests. They usually have a communion service with the nun in charge presiding.

Even so, locals sent better than US $9,000 to hurricane relief.

I don't think that it's a particularily wealthy parish...not like the ones I knew in Northern Kentucky.

Then again, people here talk to you; those in No. KY seemed to resent the presence of anyone whose family hadn't been a parishioner since before the Civil War.