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Greetings!
Just as the signs of spring begin to peek through each year, a call goes out from the Community of Anawim announcing the dates for the annual Extended Anawim Work Weekend, this year May 1-3.
Calendars are checked and marked, and plans begin to be made involving people from Erie to Pittsburgh, from State College to Clearville, PA, even from St. Paul, Minnesota.
Spring brings a wide variety of tasks to the buildings and grounds of the Anawim ministries, and this year's to-do-list was packed with choices to suit all ages (6 to upper 70's!) and talents of all kinds. The kids were just a delight and really worked hard!
The days began with Morning Prayer, included daily Mass celebrated by Father Philip Billotte, and ended with evening prayer. The spiritual bond is always such a gift to all. The spirit of peace surrounds you from arrival to departure. One weekend worker summed it up with "the peace, spirituality, and special friendships make the work that gets done not seem like work at all!"
This issue will show what happens on a Work Weekend.
Rain or shine, (lots of prayers for sunshine!) wonderful volunteers arrive to pray, work, eat, and have a delightful time. Think about planning to come next spring! |
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Marian House
Marian House, our homeless shelter for women and children in Clearfield, had a number of projects that needed attention. With a busy schedule of guests throughout the winter, the Work Weekend brought a few days where work could be done without inconvenience.
* A hallway wall and stairwell required that plaster be removed and replaced.
* Dead trees on the property needed to be cut down and removed.
* Landscaping on the grounds needed attention, and attractive brick work lining the sidewalks was also completed.
Amidst these busy tasks, a Yard Sale was set up and open Friday and Saturday. With help from staff, local volunteers, and several from the Work Weekend, so
much was accomplished. Special thanks to all who helped, inside and out! The results were remarkable. |
A New Look To Our Stones
A Visiting Artist - Mike Alfveby
Next time you visit BethanyRetreatCenter or stop in to make the Stations of the Cross, take notice of the stones. We were fortunate to have an artist among our Work Weekend volunteers, visiting from Minnesota. He was able to restore the paint to the letters on the big stone at the driveway, welcoming guests to "BethanyRetreatCenter", and to refurbish the painting on the Stations of the Cross.  Work was also done on the Blueberry Festival signs that he had originally painted the last time he visited. They are all set for the upcoming Blueberry Festival, July 24-25th. What a difference a little paint and a talented artist can make! We are most grateful. |
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Trees Down/Trees Up!!!
At this time, when "being green" is so important, we did have trees that needed to be removed either due to dead wood, or the thinning out needed in the forest areas. With chain saws buzzing, a crew worked hard at this task.
To balance out the "green" efforts, a whole new area of new trees were planted as well near the Stations of the Cross. Special thanks to all for their expertise, hard work, and dedication to conservation.
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Office Help Too!
Every once in a while, in the life of a busy office, there's a "wish list" that can use a bit of attention too, just like the gardens! With staff and crews out and about on all the Work Weekend projects, there's a need for phones to be answered, messages to reach workers, file cabinets to be cleared and reorganized, and articles to be set up for the next newsletter. That happened too!
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Gardens, Gardens Everywhere....
You do not need to be a garden expert to be assigned to "garden duty!" Just an experienced gardener to direct the troops is what it takes. And fun is the added bonus.
The following quote was heard in one conversation:
"Now remember, you can't spray our Johnny Jump-ups!"
Reply: "What's a Johnny Jump-up?" (Lots & Lots of Laughs)
On the grounds at Young People Who Care Mission in Frenchville, there are a number of gardens. What is becoming popular in this economic time has always been a priority here. There's a special garden located near the barn for herbs and tomatoes. There is the YouthCenter garden which is mainly vegetables. There is the huge and famous blueberry garden. Then, there are all the beautiful flower beds that surround BethanyRetreatCenter and the PrayerCenter. There is a very special spot in one of the flower beds for Mary's statue. It will be so beautiful when all is in bloom!
There were dandelion crews and planting crews; there were mulching crews and crews for building up the log-like trim around the flower beds. Together an amazing amount of work was done to get the gardens ready.
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3 Sheds Delivered
There was excitement in the air the day a big truck arrived with three storage sheds. Two were delivered to Frenchville; one to be installed near the barn, and one up at the YouthCenter. The other was delivered to the Life Line Office in Clearfield. Work was done ahead to prepare the sites for the sheds, so all was ready for placement. This will be such a help to have this added storage and convenience.
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Maintenance Office Moved
We also relocated our Maintenance Office from the BethanyRetreatCenter to the basement of the barn.
This too will be more convenient, especially with the new storage shed there, as well. Again, there are many to thank for all the relocation work.
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Bright Shiny Windows
Spring always brings the lovely chore of cleaning the windows. Can you imagine having 64 windows to shine? We had a crew who did such a good job on both floors of BethanyRetreatCenter that when you looked out a window you thought it was open!
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Changes - The Bookstore
The Bookstore in BethanyRetreatCenter was moved to the first floor, just down the hall from the entry and the dining room. It will be very convenient for visitors and retreatants. The volunteers prepared the new location with new paint, reinstalled the shelves (with precision!) moved all the books, and began the task of restoring them to their shelves.  Stop in at the Bookstore on your next visit and see its new quarters. |
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The Food and FUN!
Sharing meals together in the beautiful dining room is always a highlight on the Work Weekends. The cook this weekend outdid herself again. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day for about 25 people is no little task, and meals were delicious. Helpers were plenty, and many have spent time here and would turn up at the kitchen door saying, "What can I do to help?" The dining room buzzes with conversations and laughter, wondering what the day will bring in the morning, and sharing all their unique experiences at the lunch and dinner meals. Several nights had Canasta card games going with teams of players. The competition factor added quite a bit of hilarity and shouting by the various winners. A fun way to end the day.
At the end of the weekend, there's a chart on the wall that lists all the tasks that are checked off, and the crews that did the work. So much was accomplished. One by one, volunteers depart, returning to their homes and lives. The warm memories of another work weekend remain.
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Take a look!
Our new updated website: Young People Who Care Our website will give you access to information on Young People Who Care ministries, answer questions on volunteering, on sending donations, and provide you with the most current newsletters. With all this information available on the website, we hope to expand the interest in who we are and what we do. We invite you to share the website address with your family members, friends, and co-workers when you have the opportunity. We thank you! | |
THANK YOU to Maureen Willenbring who really captured the spirit of the Work Weekend in producing this Newsletter and whose efforts have resulted in its posting in a timely manner!
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Sincerely,
The Sisters of Anawim |
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