The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities along with several lay volunteers travel each summer to David, Kentucky to provide home repairs for people in need through the sisters Franciscans in Action (FIA) program.
Cheryl Wagner of Glenshaw, Pa. said she had been looking for a meaningful way to serve others. She eventually learned about the program while reading her church bulletin. It was an opportunity to “serve people as Jesus did, by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless,” said Cheryl Wagner, a volunteer from Glenshaw, Pa.
Together, the sisters and volunteers focused on building a home for Sandy, a single woman whose house was in such bad repair that nothing could be salvaged. Sandy watched with excitement as the group laid floors, trimmed windows and doors, cut countertops, hung doors and painted. “The best part of the week was knowing that we were making a difference for a woman in need – and not just ‘a woman,’ but a person, Sandy,” said Sister Annie Bremmer, OSF, pastoral associate at Sts. John and Paul Parish in Sewickley, Pa.
We invite you
The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities invite women between the ages of 18 and 45 to travel with them July 15, 2016 through Saturday, July 23, 2016 to David, Kentucky to serve people in need through their Franciscans in Action (FIA) ministry.
For more than two decades, FIA has serviced the poor in Appalachia beginning in Manchester, Ohio and continuing today through the volunteer program of St. Vincent’s Mission in Kentucky. Typically the work includes light construction, maintenance, working in the food pantry and thrift store.
In addition to working together, group members minister to one another as they prepare meals for each other and pray with and for each other. “I have been blessed many times over,” says Sister Karen Krebs of Pittsburgh, Pa., who has participated in FIA for many years.
To register, please contact Sister Karen Krebs, OSF, at 412.965.1247, kkrebs@sosf.org.
