Deacons Pod: Be Like Brit – Cherylann and Len Gengel

November 14, 2023

Deacon Dennis and Deacon Patrick speak with Cherylann and Len Gengel of the Be Like Brit Foundation, which operates a home and academy for children in Haiti.

They began the foundation after their daughter Brit died while on a mission trip in Haiti during the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.

During the Saturday evening Mass on November 18, 2023, Cherylann and Len will be honored by the Paulist Center in Boston with an Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice.

Listen now:

The Deacons

Deacon Dennis Dolan

Deacon Dennis Dolan has been a permanent deacon since August, 1993. He spent many years as a Catholic chaplain with the Connecticut Department of Corrections. Deacon Dennis became a Paulist Deacon Affiliate in 2018.

Deacon Dennis currently serves in a parish in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida. He and his wife Deborah have three children and five grandchildren.

Deacon Drew Dickson

Deacon Joseph (“Drew”) Dickson has been a permanent deacon since 1999. He is an attorney who has served as a judge. Deacon Drew became a Paulist Deacon Affiliate in 2019.

He lives in northern New Jersey with his wife, Victoria.

Deacon Tom Casey

Deacon Tom Casey graduated from Providence College and went on to serve as an Officer in the U.S. Army. He began his career with the U.S. Treasury Department leaving to co-found and administer a soup kitchen serving the homeless and displaced mentally ill. He resumed his career in the savings bank and credit industry from which he retired. After being ordained a deacon in 2005, Tom served as a prison, hospital and hospice chaplain.

Deacon Tom has been a Paulist Deacon Affiliate since July 20, 2019 and is currently serving in a parish in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida. Tom and his wife, Rachel, have three children and nine grandchildren.

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