In top photo, Bishop O’Connell is shown with the 2026 honorees who were recognized at the Oct. 16 gala. EmmaLee Italia photo
PHOTO GALLERY: Mount Carmel Guild Gala 2026
By EmmaLee Italia, Contributing Editor
Focusing on spreading the seeds of service for a “Harvest of Hope,” the 31st annual Mount Carmel Guild Gala Oct. 17 reminded all in attendance not only of the impact of each good deed, but also the needs that inspire the Guild to seek new ways of supporting people who receive care.
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“At our pantry, I hear the worry of parents trying to provide food for their children and [of] older neighbors trying to remain independent,” Darren Miller, executive director of the Mount Carmel Guild, told Gala attendees at the Trenton Country Club. “But I also hear the determination to find work, to care for family and to get through a difficult season. Those conversations … remind me that the people we serve have plans for their lives, just like we do.”
St. Joseph Sister Pat McGinley, member of the Guild’s board of trustees and emcee for the evening, told attendees: “Harvesting is doing it together. You are the ones planting the seeds … every time we give a donation, feed a family, make a home visit or drive a turkey to a family’s home.”
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., offered the evening’s invocation, noting the Guild’s important contribution to the work of the Church in the Trenton Diocese.
“What a great privilege it is for me as your bishop to be here tonight to celebrate with you,” he said. “And I also want to congratulate all of our honorees for all the good work that they do to make the Mount Carmel Guild so effective throughout Mercer County, throughout our Diocese.”
Charity plus justice
The Guild’s offering of food, financial assistance and free homebound nursing care to the needy throughout Mercer County has inspired the continued generosity of the surrounding community for 106 years; in 2025, volunteers visited 16,000 households. More than one million New Jersey residents face food insecurity; 25% of them are children.
“I know firsthand the impact that your generosity makes,” said MCG board member Brian Duff, whose family received assistance from Guild when he was a child. “The altruism of the myriad donors gave me hope while preserving my family’s dignity. … It’s not for us to know whose lives we may change through our generosity, but I assure you, we do. Those lives are in this room and the community around us.”
Miller told Gala attendees about a new Guild initiative working with satellite food pantries throughout the area; since its June launch, the initiative has served more than 400 households.
“We’re bringing food within reach of our neighbors,” he said.
Guild chair Jane Chrnelich noted that the theme Harvest of Hope “reminds us that every act of kindness, every generous gift and every moment of service plants a seed. With time, dedication and love, those seeds grow and harvest in the lives of those we touch. … Tonight we celebrate the many people who have fostered the Guild’s mission of providing hope.”
“Charity alone doesn’t really necessarily give hope; it helps you survive,” said Brenda L. Rascher, executive director of the diocesan Office of Social Services and winner of the Guild Appreciation Award. “But when you begin to ask ‘What more?’ then you’re stepping into an element of justice – and charity plus justice does give hope. I truly believe that in many cases, if change is going to happen, it’s going to start with our Catholic organizations, and Mount Carmel Guild is positioned to be able to be part of those changes to really bring more hope to the community.”