HOPE Builders

RANDOLPH  Teens at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish here did not necessarily come with a lot of experience in the skills of power washing, staining, painting and landscaping. But they came with heart and a willingness to learn last week to tackle outside jobs at four houses of elderly members of the parish and at the church like pros. Some of them even demonstrated calm under duress in dealing with a scary situation not in their job description: the appearance of a 300­-pound black bear at one of their work sites in the Morris County town.

The bear sighting only briefly disrupted the work of the crew, part of the HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere) Builders at St. Matthew’s, as members took shelter on an enclosed porch and garage of the house at the work site. Soon the bear sauntered into a neighbors’ yard, allowing the crew’s work to continue. During the week of July 13–17, 21 Hope Builder teens showed that same steely determination to help others when they turned the disappointment of having their annual mission trip to the Appalachian region of Kentucky canceled into a “stay-mission”: an opportunity to offer help to older parishioners and to the parish in their hometown.

“When someone called out to us that there was a black bear, it was scary but I stayed calm and walked to the front of the house,” said George Smith, 18, a recent high school graduate, who said he had been looking forward to going on his second mission trip to Paints­ville, Ky., to help spruce up houses for the poor of Appalachia as part of the Good Neighbors Inc. ministry there. It was canceled as a health precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was disappointed that we didn’t go to Kentucky but it was rewarding to help people in Ran­dolph. They interacted with us, shared stories and were grateful for our work, which was demanding. It was cool to see the progress of our projects as we were working — as well as the end result,” he said.

In the heat of mid-summer, several crews of St. Matthew’s teens from high school to college age put their muscle into a wide array of outdoor projects at four houses of long-time or founding parishioners. They included power washing, staining and painting decks and painting foundations to planting or transplanting trees and flowers, tearing out overgrowth and weeding, said Moira Dziomba, parish director of religious education, who devised the “stay-mission” — a play on the term “stay-cation.

At St. Matthew’s, the young people power washed and applied clear coat to the large wooden cross at the prayer labyrinth, laying down new mulch and cleaning up the fire pit and benches in the nearby courtyard. At the rectory, they power washed and stained the deck. A team of 12 adults was supervising the teens at the various job sites during the week. For all these projects, the teens learned as they went — either getting guidance from adult supervisors or figuring it out themselves, Dziomba said.

“Even though we couldn’t go to Kentucky, it was nice to see our young people have an opportunity to give back to people who have contributed time, talent and treasure to our parish. They did a great job and seemed to be having fun,” said Dziomba who has been involved with enthusiastic groups of teens and adults going to Paintsville, Ky. each summer since 2009. She credited the supervising adults for helping to plan and run the stay-mission in Randolph and Father Brian Quinn, St. Matthew’s pastor, “for his encouragement to make things happen.”

At the home of Allen and Joanne Napoliello, teens power washed their deck and two sides of their house, stained their deck a lighter color, removed rotting wood from under the deck, moved a swing to a flatter area of the yard and washed a few deck chairs and pads. Parishioners of St. Matthew’s since the beginning, Joanne was involved with the fundraiser, Shoppers Club, while Allen had served as a lector. They have been unable to perform any outside work because of recent injuries, she said.

“The kids were having a good time. I talked with them through the screen, encouraging them with a ‘thumbs up’ and saying ‘great job!’ ” said Joanne, who has participated in the Our Wise Leaders (OWL) program at the parish that promotes fellowship between young people and the elderly at scheduled luncheons. “They did a wonderful job,” she said.

That week, Anna Lord, 15, a high school sophomore, and her brother, Evan Lord, 16, a junior, wore masks while they worked. That did not prevent them from talking to the homeowners or each other which Anna said “made it easier to get the job done.”

“It was a way to give back to the original supporters of the parish and to the parish community. When I go back to church, I see what we did. I see how we impacted the whole community,” Anna said. “This experience deepened my faith. At one job site, the wife said that it was a true blessing that we came — that the yard would have looked much worse. Because of our faith, we were able to give back. It was totally fun,” she said.

One adult supervisor, Mary Anne Smallwood, worked and helped the teens paint a screened-in porch, cut overgrowth, put down mulch and plant flowers that were donated by a local garden center. HOPE Builders used some of the donations that it collected from parishioners at various fundraisers for the Kentucky trip for the “stay-mission” undertaking, she said.

“The kids worked well together — and worked hard. They came with such a willing spirit,” said Smallwood, noting that the teens made the work enjoyable by devising their own fun activities, such as wheelbarrow races.

The workdays started with 8 a.m. Mass at St. Matthew’s, broke for lunch at noon and ended at 4 p.m. For July 21, Dziomba invited Jason Benedict, head of Good Neighbors, Inc. in Paintsville, to St. Matthew’s to “encourage the young people in their efforts in Randolph and in going to Kentucky next year.”

Impressed with the quality of the work — especially from non-professionals, Father Quinn called the “stay-mission” “one of the greatest things I’ve seen.”

“It was nice to see the young people here for the people who founded the parish. The kids were having a good time, laughing and chatting,” said Father Quinn who visited the job sites at the homes. “This makes us ask what we can do for our neighbors around us. We don’t realize that the people next door might be able to use some help,” he said.