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Group from three area towns take mission trip to Kentucky
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By TIM CLEVELAND
A group of 28 people, including adults and members of the youth ministries of Holy Family Parish in Poland, St. Joe’s in Austintown and St. Luke in Boardman, traveled to Cumberland, Ky. for a mission trip.
The trip was in conjunction with the Diocese of Youngstown and coordinated by Fr. Edward Brienz. The trip lasted from July 27 through Aug. 1.
“We worked with the people of Cumberland to help them replace and repair various items in their homes that they were financially unable to do themselves,” Holy Family Parish director of religious education/youth minister Marnie Kelty said of the trip’s purpose. “Some of our jobs included tearing up and replacing a kitchen floor; dry walling and painting a living room; installing a steel door, a screen door, a handicap ramp and a handicap toilette; electrical work; preparing and painting a fire escape and railings and landscaping the property at St. Stephen’s Parish where we stayed.
“We also had the opportunity to visit the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum which included a guided tour of the museum and of an actual mine. During the tour we learned about the history of mining in Cumberland and about the men and women who reside there. Our itinerary included a trip to Kingdom Come State Park where we stopped at Creech Overlook to take in breathtaking views of Cumberland and the Black Mountains of Kentucky from an elevation of 2,760 feet. We also hiked up the mountains to High Rock Falls in Bad Branch Nature Preserve.”
Kelty said that on the way to Cumberland the group stopped for lunch and a tour of The Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption in Marietta, Ohio. On the way home they stopped at St. John XXIII Pastoral Center in Charleston, W.Va., for lunch.
“Most importantly, we had the opportunity to come together in community and fellowship to attend daily Mass,” she said. “The Masses were planned and carried out by the youth ministry.”
Kelty said the youth who participated in the trip enjoyed helping the less fortunate.
“In discussing the trip with the group, all decided that it was a life changing experience,” she said. “We were overcome with the realization that we are truly blessed to live where we do, and to have so many extras while others can barely get by. It is one thing to have a sense of how lucky we are, but to experience real poverty and need first hand, tells quite a different story. We are all grateful to have had the opportunity to put our faith in action and to be the hands of Jesus. The community and friendships we built while in Kentucky have left a positive and lasting impression.
“I would also like to include a thank you to Fr. Brienz and the men and women who donate their time, year after year, to this worthy cause.”