MORFE
Lia Morfe began volunteering to serve the poor while she was in college. She discovered her zeal for service at the St. Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen with the Com-munity of the Franciscan Friars of Renewal in Newark.
“I think the best way to know the Lord is by seeking his suffering heart and suffering face. That is with the poor,” said Morfe, recently named the new director of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women (PNCW).
“When we think of a place with low income, we think of Paterson and Newark,” but Passaic also has many needs, Morfe said. With her staff, she aims to empower women at PNCW “to become who they are called to be.”
Many clients are trying to work and be good moms, Morfe said. The daughter of parents from the Dominican Republic, she understands the challenges that women can face in a new country.
The center’s main goal, Morfe said, is to let the women know that they are “seen and loved,” even in the “smallest ways,” such as providing them with gift cards and diapers.
PNCW fosters self-reliance through English language classes, workshops, a community garden, and a knitting, crocheting, and quilting group.
The knitting group gives the women a chance to “grow in community,” and within themselves. In the garden, they delight in growing fresh produce, “coming from their hands” for their families, Morfe said.
Sister Margaret Gaffikin’s conversational English class helps women build their language skills and confidence. In workshops, they learn about topics such as domestic violence, mental health, and finances. The center also holds a weekly group therapy session.
Morfe’s desire to know more about her faith was sparked when she was in middle school and attended Corazon Puro meetings in the Bronx with her sister. She became active in the missionary organization, that provides young people, primarily Hispanics, with faith formation and leadership skills.
While in college, Morfe interned with the CFO of Corazon Puro learning grant writing, managing the donor database, leading mission trips, and giving talks. She was a Seton Teaching Fellow at Brilla College Prep in Cincinnati and taught first grade at the Brilla School in the Bronx for two years.
Salesian Sister Theresa Lee, chancellor and delegate for religious for the Paterson Diocese, said she is delighted that Morfe is leading PNCW.
In just a few weeks on the job, Morfe has connected with the community to bring in new supporters and clients and has increased supplies that were severely depleted, such as diapers. She also “has worked creatively with staff and the advisory board to expand our funding, programming, and resources,” Sister Lee said.
Morfe is looking forward to working with donors and volunteers to expand programs. Recently the Church of Christ the King, in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township, donated five computers.
“Now 25 women can start English classes,” Morfe said. She is grateful to the Lord to join a community that says “yes” to helping women regain their dignity. “Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli and religious communities inspired the center. So many lives have been changed because of their ‘yes.’ ”
