The Valley’s faith community gets a lot of credit for scaring away the cold and quelling hunger pains of the homeless, and Margie Frost worked tirelessly in her unforgettable way to help that happen.As the director and co-founder of the East Valley Mens Center in 1998, Margie championed those who needed to come in from the cold and the blazing heat. That center, which opened near the Salt River bed at 2345 N. Country Club Road, is a legacy of her work and life’s mission.

Margie died April 8 of liver failure and she may have been close to getting a transplant to extend her 63 years.

She was honored as Mesas Outstanding Woman in 1990 at the same time that former legislator, judge and county supervisor Tom Freestone was receiving the city’s Outstanding Man award.

Margie made her rounds of East Valley churches raising money, volunteers, donations, food and much more for the center. She laughed heartily and often reminded me of Isabelle Sanford (aka “Louise Jefferson” on “The Jeffersons” TV comedy series). Each time she spoke to my church, she delivered an uplifting, affirmiing message that just made you want to do your part. The late Carol Valentine, a retired Arizona State University communications professor, earnestly recruited a team of volunteers at our church to regularly make sandwiches, donate socks and underwear and whatever else was needed. She became a lieutenant in Margie’s army of volunteers.

I was the Tribune’s “Town Crier” daily columnist in the mid-1990s when Margie often called me to write columns about needs for Mesa Community Action Network, where she was deputy director.

As she was getting ready to open the mens center in 1998, she called me one day to say tht Daryl Earl of Mesa had donated fabric for quilts for the first residents of what initiailly would be called the East Valley Training and Transitional Living Center. Earl had already given materials for new mattresses and pillows. Now Margie needed quilters to sew.

We are looking for sewing groups and individuals to make quilts,” she told me. She hoped that 200 quilts could be sewn in the eight months before the center was to open and be ready for the 84 male guests.

When Mesa CAN first took possession of the center, she called me to write a Town Crier item about her need for volunteers to help take out old carpet, remove floor tile, tear out bathroom and kitchen fixtures and knock down walls — and inventory all the things being donated. Anyone could help she said, specifying service clubs, church volunteers, seniors, scouts or regular individuals.

She would write letters to the editor asking for help. She started out, “Here we go again, begging.”

Margie was always quick to tell everyone that tough love was necessary at the center. Someone wrote that “Margie Frost helps 500 men a year clean up, make their beds and learn to have hope.”

Her places motto was: “Working Our Way Back With Pride, Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Dignity, and Excellence.”

At her funeral service on Saturday, it will be a remarkable life story to tell. The Margie stories will fill the afternoon and underscore a remarkable life of purpose.

For Catholics in some Valley parishes, Mass this time of year can sometimes mean a diocesan letter being read and distributed. Swallow hard and listen. The priest will be going somewhere else, or a priest they’ve never heard of is coming to lead the flock.Catholics are loyal to their priests, and a change of one’s priest can be unsettling. Priests come in a whole range of styles, manner, personalities and homily skills. Some Catholics never get over the departure of their beloved priests.

For folks like Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix and the Rev. Tom Zurcher, vicar for priests, these are the days when parish assignments are pondered and decided and made to be effective July 1, if not sooner.

A first round of assignments of four priests affecting six East Valley parishes has just been announced Most notably, the Rev. Greg Schlarb, pastor of St. Maria Goretti’s in Scottsdale, is headed to lead the mega-parish, St. Anne’s Catholic Parish in Gilbert. He will replace the Rev. Doug Lorig, nearly 70, who decided 14 years in the 8,000-family parish was enough, and he wants a smaller, more manageable parish — not one like St. Anne’s with about 100 ministries. He happens to be the only married Catholic priest in the diocese, having once been an Episcopal rector in Nogales.

Some of the priest changes come about because of pastors bolting. Most notably, the Rev. Leonard Walker, quit abruptly in November when the Vatican announced a tougher scrutiny for men going into seminaries — a move to stem homosexuals filling the classes. His post is being filled by the Rev. Charlie Goraieb of St. Henry’s parish in Buckeye. In Buckeye, they’re wondering whom the bishop will send next — a feeling that is shared by other parishes as the priest assignment sweepstakes goes on.

Some parishioners dread the priest they like or have gotten used to will be stolen away to fill some other parish’s shortage.

The Phoenix Diocese and other dioceses continue to see a trickle of new seminarians graduating and filling vacancies, even with a range of strategies to press young men into religious vocations. Last spring, a single new priest lay prostrate at the front of Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral as part of his ordination.Hardly enough. Diocesan leaders say there will be a few more coming in the years ahead, but it won’t do much for the Doug Lorigs turning 70. Priests continue to labor into the 80s, and at St. Anne’s, the Rev. Stephen Adrian is still going strong by his own choice, despite turning 95 on April 14 and being nearly blind.

There is a desperate need for more Spanish-fluent priests to meet the enormous demand that has come about because of the influx of new people from Mexico.

Let’s see if all the slots can be filled by July 1. Not an easy job down at the chancery.

Easter comes three weeks later this year, and many East Valley houses of worship will notice that when they count heads on Easter Sunday. And they DO count worshipers to track changes and patterns.When Easter fell on March 27 in 2005, notably more winter visitors were still around. But with an April 16 date this year for Easter, a sizable number of seniors have already fled north to spend Easter with family, tend to last-minute income tax work or get ready for spring gardens.

In my 15 years of covering the faith scene for the Tribune — in two 7 1/2 year spans — I have observed an ever-dwindling number of sunrise Easter services planned by churches. Uncertain weather and a seeming unwillingness of too many to show up early may be factors, plus additional workload for pastors and staff.

And traditional Easter breakfasts that tide over the early worshipers and those who come to the next one in the sanctuary seem to be down as well.

Often the breakfasts are put on as fund-raisers for church youth groups. Youth must show up at 5 a.m. to get the pancake batter made, grapefruit cut up and tables decorated. Typically, the “profit” does not justify the labor.

Beyond that, I’m not sure why there are fewer Easter morning breakfasts — except all the work in the kitchen and a clean-up that can prevent kids and adults from getting to the the next round of Easter morning activities on campuses.

Some churches are counting on good crowds and adding another service to the regular schedule to ensure no one has to be uncomfortable and folks can find times that work for them.

For Christians, Easter is the apex of their faith year. The Christmas and Easter Christians are alwasys welcomed.

And who turns up the following Sunday is often the best indicator of the truly faithful.

In mid-February, the Tempe faith community launched I-HELP to provide emergency shelter to the homeless Friday through Sunday nights. They never expected among their first guests would be a first-rate speller who decided the shelter truly spelled relief.Sue Ringer, the coordinator of the new Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program, noted that on Friday night, March 31, a mom and daughter arrived at Tempe Salvation Army for help with overnight housing. “They had just arrived from Quartzite on the bus for the daughter to participate in the big, state spelling bee at ASU that weekend,” she said.

They had no place to stay and no money. “We took them into I-HELP Friday night and off they went to the spelling bee Saturday morning, she said.

When they showed up for I-HELP screening Saturday night, they reported that Josie had placed ninth in the state. “We were all so proud of her,” Ringler said. All the I-HELP guests congratulated her. When we got to the hosting congregation Saturday night, we told her the dinner provided by Pizzeria Uno that night was to honor her! But that is not the best part of the story.”

“One of our great I-HELP steering committee members offered to take them to her house to sleep for Saturday evening instead of staying with I-HELP,” Ringer said. “And they turned her down, deciding to stay with I-HELP and their new found friends!”

“If that doesnt speak volumes for the program, I dont know what does!” Ringler said.

About a half-dozen churches are providing housing and meals on a rotation basis. Up to 15 people are being housed in churches. Ringler and faith leaders hope more congregations will join in so that all nights of the week will be covered, and that many homeless won’t have to spend nights under bushes and behind buildings.