John Willoughby: Greene Publishing, Inc.
"Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." This verse given in 1 Timothy 4:12 is the perfect description of what a number of youth did as part of their annual summer mission trip. Traveling all the way from Jacksonville, an Episcopal church youth group came to Madison County to serve people in a tangible way.
It took more than five people to fix the main landing in place. It was very crucial to make sure that the landing was in line and level with the proposed plans. Pictured are a few strong men from All Saints Episcopal, including the help of Joe Boyles and Eric Evans.
Hillary Citrano, director of Christian Formation and Youth at All Saints Episcopal Church in Jacksonville, brought 15 high school students, with chaperones, for the purpose of working with the Madison Rotary Club. Citrano and the youth of All Saints Episcopal were also welcomed by Father Joe Boyles of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, in Madison, for the purpose of in-house and yard work at Boyles' church.
All Saints Episcopal Church is 130 years old, founded in 1885, and has been a welcoming place of Christian worship and ministry in the San Marco region of the City of Jacksonville. Lead by Rev. Donavan Cain, All Saints Episcopal is an outreach-focused church with a variety of services, classes and volunteer work.
On Thursday, July 19, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the youth of All Saints Episcopal joined together with the Madison Rotary Club to assist Ability 1st in the construction of a ramp through the Access to Independence Program.
Because the four by four post was a vital part of the project, it was important to make sure that the post was cut to length. Pictured, from left to right, are All Saints Episcopal youth: Zac Mattson, Laina Parry and Nicholas Rukab.
The Access to Independence Program works with volunteer groups from various organizations, churches and businesses to build home accessibility structures (mostly ramps, but also half steps with four-inch to five-inch risers for persons with impaired mobility who don't use wheelchairs). These services are for low-income individuals with disabilities who are unable to easily get into their homes and cannot afford to pay a professional/commercial company to build them a safe way to enter and exit their home.
The construction took four to five hours to complete. Some students did not have experience before working in a construction setting, but Ability 1st coordinator Eric Evans was very encouraging and informative in working together with the students to teach construction and teamwork skills. Evans and the 15 youth volunteers were assisted by Dale Stone and Paul Rudloff, representing Madison Rotary Club; and Joe Boyles, whom Evans and Citrano state helped bring the youth from Jacksonville for this project. Boyles represents St. Mary's Episcopal Church, as well as Madison Rotary Club.
Though the youth were doing most of the work, even the adults joined in on the action of building a half-step ramp for a local Madison County resident. Pictured, from left to right, are: Hillary Citrano, All Saints Episcopal youth director; and Eric Evans, Ability 1st Crew Supervisor.
The construction was the 150th accessibility build completed this fiscal year by Ability 1st and their partner volunteers. This is a record for the organization, and they are on track to complete a record 175 projects by the end of September. The build was a five by four-foot accessible landing and set of extended half steps for a local Madison County resident.
On the morning of Friday, July 20, Boyles welcomed the youth group and their chaperones to St. Mary's Episcopal Church, located at 140 NE Horry Ave., in Madison. Beginning at 9 a.m., 15 youth members got down and dirty as they laid pine straw near the front entrance between the church building and bushes. Students also helped clean the concrete fountain and some were deadheading bushes that held beautiful, small yellow flowers.
Fifteen youth, including five chaperones, came from Jacksonville to Madison County to serve the community in various ways. The youth of All Saints Episcopal Church, of Jacksonville, are greatly appreciated for their dedicated service and help.
Throughout the mission trip, the youth were taught the importance of teamwork and the purpose of helping others for no personal gain, but for the gain of Christ. The youth were housed by a fellow church member who had a home in Madison County.