by Jill Ragar Esfeld
jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
MISSION — “I just thought we have a lot of great people at St. Pius, but I don’t think we’re very outward-looking,” said St. Pius X parishioner Cliff O’Bryan.
“And so, I thought we should get some speakers who could come and talk maybe a little outside our comfort zone,” he added.
That thought led to St. Pius X’s Faith Formation Speaker Series. And this March’s speaker, Jill Hanlin from Journey to New Life, definitely took her audience outside its comfort zone.
Hanlin grew up with a mother addicted to substance abuse.
She was 18 when she made the difficult decision, against her parent’s wishes, to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.
The child was born without kidneys and only lived for 13 hours.
“I lost my mind,” Hanlin told her audience. “I didn’t know how to handle it.”
Hanlin received psychiatric help for a few weeks but still had trouble navigating life after such a trauma.
“And then, someone introduced me to cocaine,” she said. “And that took it all away. For the next 30 years of my life, I struggled with stimulants.
“In those 30 years, it took me to prison seven times.”
Hanlin’s last prison sentence lasted four years. When she got out in 2020, she contacted a program called Journey to New Life and turned her life around.
Eventually, Hanlin returned to Journey to New Life to work as a house manager, a case manager and then in her present position, in community engagement.
She is a powerful advocate for the program that changed her life, and for people who have overcome trauma.
“The main thing I want to do is to get rid of the stigma around people who have been incarcerated, around people who suffer from addictions, suffer with mental health issues,” she said. “We’re all human and we’re just trying to live together in this life.”
Journey to New Life is a collaborative, nonprofit organization located at 31st and Troost in Kansas City, Missouri.
It facilitates the empowerment of people reentering society from prison, providing first-stop services, residences, case management and employment assistance in a safe and supportive environment.
O’Bryan has been involved with Journey to New Life since its inception in 2013.
“One of my ministries is I’m kind of a scrounger for Journey to New Life,” he said. “A lot of people are a little unwilling to go down to 31st and Troost.
“People give me clothing and kitchen items and stuff like that, and I take them down there. I probably go once or twice a month.”
O’Bryan and his wife have been St. Pius X parishioners for almost 11 years.
They saw that the parish had a school of religion for young people and thought there should be something similar for adults.
They started the Faith Formation Group, which now includes a book club, Popcorn with the Pope movie nights and the speaker series.
Pastor Father Gerard Alba who attended Hanlin’s program said that through the speaker series, “we’re trying to give more opportunities for people to grow closer in their faith, their spiritual life, to know about Catholic theology.
“And then, learn about ways that we can become the Lord’s hands and feet in the world.”
O’Bryan loves the diversity within the Faith Formation Group and the welcoming environment created for sharing opinions.
“Book club has really turned into a community,” he said. “When we first started, we had people who didn’t want to talk, but now that we’ve been doing it for a while, people are more willing to express themselves.
“We don’t get mad at each other, but we do have some differing opinions.”
Father Alba agreed.
“We’re different people who have different perspectives and we’re hearing from each another,” he said. “That’s one thing I love about our group.”
“People are coming from all sides and we have a lot of arguments,” he continued. “But it’s a place where people can come, they feel welcome and they can share their voices.
“Speakers like [Hanlin] give us a way to open our hearts beyond our little community.”
