By the time you read this bulletin, I will have retired from the Sister Isaac Center. I retired from my first career with IBM in August of 2005. A month later, I attended a parish meeting to discuss how we, as a parish, could assist victims of Hurricane Katrina. After the meeting, I introduced myself to Sr Isaac; I knew of her and her work from a mutual friend (all 3 of us are quilters.) I mentioned to Sister that I had just retired and I was seeking volunteer opportunities. She invited me to come in the next day to have a look around. I did just that. I was so impressed with the ministry, I jumped right in as a volunteer that very day. First I helped sort clothes; a little while later, I helped fill food bags; it was a busy day and I was pulled to help interview and serve a guest. After the volunteers and guests all left, I stuck around and did some cleaning. By the end of the day, I knew I had found my new purpose. I was taken aback by the people we served that day – it gave me a close up view of the poverty that existed in our area – I honestly had no idea. My initial assignment was in housewares. I headed up the collection of housewares to send to New Orleans – we filled a moving van full of donations from our parishioners and sent it on its way! I then headed up the furniture ministry, arranging pickups from donors and plans to distribute to guests in need; I had a few other volunteers helping me with the planning, and I had four of our men volunteer to be drivers. We ‘hired’ some of our guests to help with the heavy lifting. (The helpers were compensated with a check made out towards their rent or a utility bill.) It was a great program that I eventually had to shut down as most of the drivers were getting too old to be carrying furniture!). I’ll always remember the day when one of our recipients ( a single dad who had custody of his boys due their mother’s drug problem) came to me and said his boys sent their thanks for the beds we delivered, which meant they didn’t have to sleep on the floor any more!
Day after day, many of our guests express their appreciation for the help they receive from us – whether it’s food, clothes, household goods, financial assistance or just taking time to listen to their woes with compassion and empathy.
In late 2016, SIster Isaac decided it was time to retire when she turned 80; as her board had discussions on trying to find a suitable replacement, I stepped up and offered to take on the challenge myself. I had been acting as her assistant for quite a while and I was familiar with all aspects of the job. I had shared the office with her so I was privy to all her interactions with guests, volunteers and donors.My main motivation was my desire to be sure her ministry was kept alive – and that happened with the help of our pastors, volunteers and donors. And, now that I’ve turned 78, it’s time for me to slow down.Earlier last year, I had asked Fr. T. to hire one of my volunteers, Theresa Weissburg, as an assistant director, with the thought she could be my replacement when the time came. . From the day she walked in to offer her services as a volunteer, she has been a shining star; I knew from the start she had the potential to follow in my footsteps. (I often refer to her as my mini-me; she has the same drive, passion and dedication to this place that I do.) So as I prepared to retire, I felt a great sense of relief that I was leaving the ministry in good hands with Theresa, our board of directors, all our wonderful volunteers and donors, and with Fr Jairo as one of our greatest supporters – I told him I call him our ‘PR guy’ as he does a great job of promoting our work: he often mentions us from the pulpit!).
Thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey; I’m very grateful that I have been blessed to serve for 20 years. Don’t be surprised if you see me on campus once in a while; volunteering is in my blood and I hope to continue serving the parish in any way I can.
Blessings,
Mary Ann
P.S. Please give Theresa your support to keep this unique ministry alive by keeping Sr. Isaac’s work going.