SitemapHaving a servant’s heart is what matters most as a member of Mission of Hope.
That’s how Kathy McConnaughy describes the quality common to volunteers on the team, a ministry of St. Joseph Church of Strongsville in Cuyahoga County. The ministry’s goal is “to seek out areas to work where a need exists, either from a natural disaster or poverty, and to commit and respond to this need as a community of faithful believers in Jesus Christ.”
Mission of Hope members are spending this week staying at South Side Academy, the former St. Patrick School, on Oak Hill Avenue. They are working at St. Patrick Church, the school and in the neighborhood.
The Rev. Ed Noga, pastor of St. Patrick Church, 1420 Oak Hill Ave., explained that a parish member who sometimes works in Cleveland was the connection that brought the Mission of Hope to the Valley. “Needs in neighborhoods came up in conversation,” he said.
He said he was impressed when the team arrived with a truck with all sorts of equipment and supplies. “This is a self-contained unit,” he said. “These are people with experience who know what they’re doing. They come with a plan and execute it.”
Pat Kerrigan, St. Patrick council president, said Mission of Hope is working jointly with the church and Oak Hill Collaborative, where he is director. Mission of Hope’s “to do” list includes cleaning up an abandoned service station on Oak Hill, boarding up seven abandoned houses, patching and painting in the school and repairing plaster in the church chapel. The church needs four classrooms for meeting space in the school, and the team is cleaning and preparing them for use.
McConnaughy said Mission of Hope began in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The team spent April 10 to 16, 2007, in New Orleans, working through Catholic Charities in the archdiocese there. “That was the catalyst,” McConnaughy said of the event that spurred the team into organizing into action. McConnaughy is team facilitator but she prefers to describe the effort as “colloborative leadership.”
She said the idea for such a group was inspired by her family. “It was the witness my parents gave me. Both came from big families who helped each other,” she said. “Everyone always pitched in. I thought, ‘if it works for my family, it will work for God’s family.’”
“Wherever we go, whatever we do, we are here to serve,” McConnaughy said. On this trip, the team numbers 18; participants fluctuate from 15 to 50. “We like to stay within a five-hour ride from our church so we don’t spend too much time and money on transportation,” she said. Most team members are retired; some are self-employed. Some use their vacations for these projects. The team takes such a trip once a year and does projects in its area the rest of the time.
For participants, McConnaughy said, the trip is not only about helping people and neighborhoods in need but is a retreat. “It has a spiritual component,” she said. “We attend daily Mass, read Scripture and engage in discipleship.”
Mike McCoy, a crew leader on Mission of Hope, said he’s been involved about eight years. “It’s about helping people,” he said. “I’m good with my hands in repairing things and carpentry.”
McCoy added, “God says to help the less fortunate, and we’re trying to do that.”
Mike Moore, a semi-retired executive with a chemical-engineering background, and Tom Bender, a retired certified public accountant, are working in St. Patrick chapel, where plaster on the 110-year-old ceiling is disintegrating. They’re skilled at repairing the problem.
“I’ve been blessed, and this is a way to give back,” Moore said. “We’ve been helped in our lives, and so we’re helping now.”
“The Lord called me, and I answered,” Bender said of his participation on the team. “We have skills, and we’re using them to help others.”
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