Needs of the Appalachian Community
Lynda, Hub, Br. Jerry and the volunteers are all smiles posing in front of their friend Donald's house after sharing cookies and Christmas carols.
Harrison, Ohio to Jackson, Kentucky
A LIFE JOURNEY
Br. Jerry Beetz, OFM
In 1995 Brother Jerry Beetz, OFM, left St. John the Baptist Parish in Harrison, Ohio for a new assignment in Eastern Kentucky. At the time, he did not realize that the relationships he had formed with people in Harrison would bear fruit in his ministry at Holy Cross Parish in Jackson, Kentucky.
Jackson is a small town of about 2,290 in coal country. The landscape is craggy, a part of the Cumberland Plateau, carved from a mountain after strip mining. More women live in Jackson than men, but their income is 25% less. More than a fourth of the residents live below the poverty line. There are some coal mines operating in the area, but because there are so few other options for employment, people get frustrated and leave. Family members find losing their young to the city tragic and don’t want to splinter their families. Br. Jerry’s letters home about the conditions in Jackson stirred the folks back in Harrison.
Volunteers
In 2002, Lynda Noel, certified pastoral minister, and Hub Martini, Director of Youth Ministry at St. John the Baptist in Harrison, OH, believed they had the means to help support the church’s work in Jackson and generate a way to promote spiritual growth and social awareness for the youth of their own parish. Lynda and Hub organized a cadre of energetic parishioners to provide hands-on help to the people of Jackson. Each summer a week-long project is scheduled for high school students and others who can make the trip. Some go back year after year.
Br. Jerry is very aware of the needs of the people of the community and schedules projects ahead of time for the group. It can range from yard work to repairing stairs, to painting or making ramps because many of the town residents have disabilities or mobility issues. The improvements make life a bit easier for them.
Teen volunteers giving a much needed coat of paint to a back bedroom at ALex and Juanita's home.
In addition to the scheduled work, the group has a few favorite residents they always visit. Two of those people are Juanita and her husband Alex. Juanita has been blind since birth and is bedridden. “The big thing is not the work we do but the example of Christian Community living together, praying together, sharing faith and ‘Sitting a Spell,’ telling our story”, says Br. Jerry.
The group brings its own tools, water and bedrolls. Each person contributes $100 for expenses. They sleep on the floor of the friary. The trip is a learning experience.
Between trips they have bake sales and corn hole tournaments which net about $2,000.00 for Br. Jerry to use as discretionary funds for those in need.
Br. Jerry is constantly amazed at the efforts that the Harrison group makes throughout the year to come to Jackson in the summer and again one day at Christmas time. Lynda and Hub have been there every year since the beginning. “I have no doubt that the program will run smoothly with Lynda and Hub in charge,” says Br. Jerry. This Franciscan mission certainly has its challenges, but Br. Jerry tells us that the hills will embrace you.
If you have any questions about Jackson or to donate new or gently used items, please contact us at friarworks@franciscan.org or 513-721-4700.
Volunteers building a wheelchair ramp for Juanita so she can be wheeled out on a gurney for doctor visits.
