Episode 173 | Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area – With Afghans

Pat Hatch & Mary Amendolia Gardner gave an update on the “With Afghans” initiative launched by OneHeartDC.

Podcast Guests

Pat Hatch

Born in Buffalo, New York, Pat Hatch taught at a mission school in South Korea in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, she spent several years as a member of a team of church volunteers resettling refugees, primarily from Vietnam.

In 1981 Pat founded a Maryland non-profit organization, which annually provides a variety of services to more than 2,000 refugees and immigrants from over 80 nations. After 16 years directing that organization, she accepted a position at the Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees – the state refugee office – first as Community Liaison and then as Program Manager for a decade until her retirement in 2011.

In 2014 – at age 70 – Pat accepted the call to be Refugee and Immigrant Ministry Director for the Presbyterian Church in America Mission to North America.  It is her joy to come alongside PCA churches in the US and Canada to encourage and support them as they reach out to refugees and other immigrants and internationals.

Rev. Mary Amendolia Gardner

Rev. Mary Amendolia Gardner is an ordained Anglican Priest and works with OneHeartDC as the Director of “With Afghans.” Mary is also a Spiritual Director with Coracle and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Curating Community Through the Arts. She trained for ministry at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, England and earned an MA in Christian Spirituality at Heythrop College, University of London, with a focus on the visual arts and spiritual transformation.  She previously served in Outreach at The Falls Church Anglican, including work assisting refugees and asylum seekers and has spent over 25 years involved in global missions work.