Painting the Narthex and Vestibule at St. Rene’s Parish in Chicago

The crew on Day 1. View the rest of the photos below.

July 2008 - Hope’s On The Way, which has sponsored eight trips to New Orleans since 2005 to help in the Hurricane Katrina rebuilding, is starting to broaden its efforts.

The group, headed by Deacon Sal Lema and a board of directors, has begun projects closer to home. In July, a group of deacons and lay volunteers painted the narthex and vestibule at St. Rene’s Parish in Chicago, to prepare the church for their 50th anniversary year.

Hope’s On The Way also extended offers of assistance to parishes in May and June when tornadoes raked the South suburbs and heavy flooding swamped towns in Iowa. The idea is to line up projects closer to Chicago, which may attract more volunteers willing to travel shorter distances and work a couple of days instead of  having to commit to an entire week.

”When you experience a sister cry in your arms in thanksgiving for what little work you did; when you stop for gas and the attendant who sees your red shirt thanks you for helping others, when a fellow deacon thanks you for bringing him a little closer to moving back into his home, you know that you have truly been called by God to serve this need. The very meaning of the word deacon, servant, or to serve, calls us to help others. I realize that there are needs all around us. While New Orleans will require our support for many years to come, the parishes within our diocese are also asking for assistance. We can do so much for a parish with a day or two of organized assistance. Hope’s on the Way plans to do just that!

Painting St. Rene's in Chicago:

Laying the tarps	Jim Walz rolling the ceiling
Deacon Ron on the job	James Keith filling holes
Barb Grezenia painting vents	First of the five-coat finish
What started like this...	...now looks like this!
Before...
...After
Tom Renke doing borders	Linda, Beth and Ruth add pizazz!
The Crew	Darcey, Beth and Ivan approve!
To date, the group’s efforts have included getting a damaged print shop up and running on the grounds of Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans, painting most of the convent of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in New Orleans, tiling most of the bathrooms and laundry facilities at the Motherhouse, rewiring and installing a new furnace and air-conditioning unit for a deacon in New Orleans, putting up wallboard and painting a home owned by a Baptist minister, installing drywall and sanding a home owned by a deaf family and painting the exterior of a  frame home for a family in the lower 9th Ward. On their last trip, they installed the dry wall for a three bedroom home in the St. Michael the Archangel parish near the lower ninth ward of New Orleans. Since the group’s inception in January 2005, Hope’s On The Way has raised and provided more than $400,000 in goods and services. The next trip to New Orleans is planned Oct. 18-25, 2008.