St. Mary's - November 2006 Newsletter

2006 Habitat Travelers Spend Successful Week

BY SARAH CICUTO

This summer, amidst jobs, school and college preparation, and family, 18 young volunteers of St. Mary’s Parish traveled to Meridian, Mississippi. Their goal was to aid Habitat for Humanity in providing new homes in northern Mississippi for families that had lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. Led by Paul Gannon, Youth Minister and with the help of three chaperones Father Manuel, Dona Desantis and Leslie Platt, the trip was successful in making considerable progress on a home in construction, strengthening bonds between friends and meeting new ones.

Meridian, at the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountains, is a retirement community in the “Bible belt” of Mississippi considered high land for those near Biloxi and New Orleans. Although friends and family fled there, the city had considerable wind damage that left Meridian’s own homes destroyed and families misplaced.

Upon arrival on July 23, the group was welcomed into St. Paul's Episcopal by Jim, the church’s caretaker and Fonda Rush, the Habitat affiliate. This was a comfortable facility that exceeded all notions and speculations made along theway. Work started the next morning with the guidance of Gwen and Greg. Before each day, Ms. Rush explained different aspects about Habitat for Humanity and what Hurricane Katrina did to and for Mississippi.

For the first three days, the group was divided into two teams for two homes. By the end of the week, the paint was finished in the city home and the roof was finished in the home just outside of Meridian. On the last day of work, the new homeowner visited the site with her severely disabled son to work and laugh with St. Mary’s.

Through the week, several community events ended the work days, including a visit to a community Baptist revival, a favorite experience highlighting the Habitat trips for the past three years, and a visit from a local youth minister to St. Paul's Episcopal, teaching games and having conversations that added even more joy and fun to the week.

Before the last day of work, St. Mary’s was invited to a house blessing, an experience new to all members of the team. The family for whom the house was built received prayers, gift and a home from the volunteers, Habitat employees of the area, local churches and even those sent workers from across the country joined in a ceremony conducted by Fonda Rush.

To celebrate a successful work week and meet more locals, St. Mary’s group took buses and vans with St. Patrick’s Parish to the Okatoma River for a canoeing adventure before returning home on July 30.

This was the last Habitat for Humanity trip through St. Mary’s Parish for eight of the volunteers who are currently in colleges and universities. “It was the best week of my past two summers, and I will find a way to keep it up,” says Kara Crosson, who is also convinced that she will “conveniently vacation” near the next site.

“I just want to thank Paul for helping us get there and our chaperones for helping us along the way. I think all of us feel like we’ve seen more than we could have ever imagined, and I hope the trips keep going as well as I’ve seen them,” she said.

A special “thank you” goes out to all of the supportive members of the St. Mary’s and Shrewsbury communities who donated time, funds and prayers in preparation for this trip.

–Sarah Cicuto is one of the students who traveled to Mississippi.