Parishioners in Ponca City, Newkirk produce a ‘Great Day of Service’

A group of parishioners from Saint Mary Catholic Church in Ponca City arrive in the morning at a modest home at the north end of 12th Street in the city.

They are there to work.

They find a few small tree branches have fallen, the result of a windstorm. There are leaves, too, shed from previously dormant trees in a corner of the yard. Within 30 minutes, that team of five spruced up the property as a service to the homeowner.

Across town, another property needs much more work, a job for a second team from the church, with a yard overgrown with thick grass, tree limbs littering the yard, along with more debris in the side yard.

“It was an overwhelming project,” said Mary Morrison, a volunteer from Saint Mary’s.
Still, those jobs and others were done, with joy.

Volunteers from Saint Mary’s and many other Christian churches fanned out into neighborhoods early on April 6 for the “Great Day of Service,” helping homeowners who need assistance in their cleanup efforts.

The volunteers from Saint Mary begin planning months prior.

“We have meetings, usually in February, and then we get volunteers and we canvass the neighborhoods for houses to do,” said Rick Steichen, one of the coordinators for the parish, who are also joined by volunteers from Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Newkirk.
“If we see a house that needs attention, then we knock on their door and ask, or leave a flyer to call us back,” Steichen said. “Somebody who is in need, who is not able to do it themselves, or has something that is overwhelming to them.”

Yard work is the focus of the work, and many teams arrive with rakes, hoes, lawnmowers, anything to clean up a yard.

“Things we look for are lawns that have limbs and shrubs that need to be trimmed, grass that needs to be mowed,” Steichen said.

The morning begins at the 8 a.m. Mass, where parishioner volunteers wear their work clothes to church and soon meet to span out into the neighborhood. The volunteers gather to see which teams they will work with, all knowing they may help another group of parishioners later that morning.

Each property is different, and each has its own need for help.

“Everything is outside – trimming trees, trimming shrubs, weeding flower beds, raking,” Steichen said. 

The morning may have dawned chilly and wet, but the work got done, and many properties across Ponca City benefited.

“The weather turned out very nice,” Steichen said, “it was a beautiful day to work.” 

Everett Brazil, III is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.


Photo: Volunteers from St. Mary Catholic Church in Ponca City celebrated the Great Day of Service April 6, helping neighborhood homeowners clean up their yards when they may not be able to do it themselves. St. Mary Catholic Church participates in the program each year. Photo Everett Brazil, III/Sooner Catholic.