Founders Day of Bloom Ministries: October 16, 2025 (Feast of Saint Hedwig)

The Feast of Saint Hedwig, Patron of Renewal and Compassion

On this day one year ago, Bloom Ministries came quietly into being. The paperwork was filed, the prayers were whispered, and a seed was planted that none of us could yet see. Within twenty-four hours, an email arrived confirming our registration — and only later did we notice the divine symmetry: it had all unfolded on the Feast of Saint Hedwig, a woman who renounced privilege to serve the poor and the broken.

1  The coincidence that wasn’t

Saint Hedwig lived in thirteenth-century Silesia. Born to nobility, she could have spent her life surrounded by luxury. Instead she built hospitals, cared for the sick with her own hands, and walked barefoot as a sign of humility. Her feast celebrates the courage to release comfort for the sake of compassion — a message that echoes through Bloom Ministries’ very DNA.

When I learned that Bloom’s founding date shared her feast, I felt a quiet affirmation: this is what Bloom is meant to be. Not a monument to success, but a living act of surrender — a community that trades pride for purpose, fear for faith, isolation for belonging.

2  The soil from which we grew

Bloom Ministries was born in the tension between despair and hope. It began in hospital rooms, late-night prayers, and the constant ache of watching disabled and trans people slip through the cracks of systems meant to protect them. We carried stories of neglect, misgendering, and invisible pain — and we also carried an unshakeable belief that God had not abandoned us.

In that belief we found a calling: to build a ministry that would see the people others overlook; to advocate, to feed, to comfort, to remind every soul that their existence is sacred.

3  The mission that follows

Today Bloom’s work extends through programs and partnerships, but its heart remains simple:

• Advocacy: standing beside disabled and trans Oregonians as they navigate DHS, care agencies, and housing crises.
• Food Safety: ensuring that those who cannot reach grocery stores still eat with dignity.
• Education: teaching self-advocacy, accessibility rights, and trauma-informed leadership.
• Faith & Healing: through Rebloom Radio and spiritual gatherings, reminding every listener that holiness is found in honesty, not in hiding.

We walk the same road Saint Hedwig walked — one paved with compassion rather than gold.

4  The meaning of the cross

The old collect for Saint Hedwig prays:

“O God, who didst teach blessed Hedwig to renounce the pomp of this world that, with her whole heart, she might follow the humble way of the Cross; grant that through her example we may learn to trample under foot the perishable delights of this world, and by clinging to that Cross overcome whatever opposes us.”

Those words have become the rhythm of Bloom Ministries’ life. The “cross” is not only suffering; it is steadfast love in the face of indifference. It is paperwork done for someone too tired to do it themselves. It is a meal dropped off at a doorstep when panic or pain make the world too large to face. It is the patient voice on the phone saying, “You still matter. You still belong.”

5  A ministry of surrender and strength

Every year on this date, we will pause to remember that Bloom was never built on capital or convenience. It was built on calling. We will honor those who have walked with us — caregivers, volunteers, donors, and friends — and we will renew our promise to keep Bloom free of exploitation and rich in empathy.

Like Saint Hedwig, we will measure success not by numbers but by nurture: by the peace in someone’s eyes when they are finally treated with respect; by the sigh of relief when the groceries arrive; by the courage found in community.

6  The prayer of the founders

Lord of new beginnings,

You planted Bloom Ministries on the feast of Saint Hedwig,

teaching us that holiness is found in humility.

Bless this ministry as it grows.

Let every branch shelter the weary,

every bloom remind the forgotten that they are beloved.

Teach us to lay down what is temporary

so that we may lift up what is eternal —

justice, mercy, and the healing of souls.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

7  Looking forward

As we step into another year, our vision expands toward the Bloom Sanctuary — a place of safety, advocacy, and rest for those who have nowhere else to go. Yet no matter how wide the reach, our roots stay here in this origin story: a quiet filing on October 16 that became a movement of love.

May every future October 16th remind us to begin again with the same humility that birthed Bloom: empty hands, open heart, eyes lifted toward a God who turns surrender into sanctuary.

🕊️ Saint Hedwig, guide us in the work of Bloom — that we may follow your example of mercy, and never grow weary of healing the world in love.