Unified in Prayer

Lord,

Your name is holy, your works are true, let us all see ourselves in You.
Through humility, work, and all your deeds help us help those yearning with needs. We stand here united, together as one, Nazareth Farm, the journey has just begun. From morning to afternoon and through the night, fill us with love and all your might.
A community, as one, we will continue to build until everything God wants will be fulfilled. No longer is it "I", but now it is we - all coming together, alive and free.
We all share a bond not seen with another, I can now call you all my sisters and brothers.
May we always remember all the simple things, all nature, all good.
As we stand here today, let us always remember possessions come and go, but family lasts forever.

Amen

Unplanned, Unexpected, Unbelievable!

Nazareth Farm:  Unplanned, unexpected, unbelievable!

By: John Silva, St. Athanasius Parish Chaperone

On the Tuesday before the team (Jen, Brett, Sam, Rachael) was to leave for Naz Farm Karen asked Jen if I could go with the group.  Jen immediately called Naz Farm and secured a place for me to join the team.   On Saturday (Aug 17th), Fr. Colarusso and the morning Mass group gave us a blessing, crosses, and a nice send-off for our trip to Salem, West Virginia.  After a stop in Hershey, PA and overnight at St. Joan of Arc, sleeping on the floor at the parish school, we headed to West Virginia.  As we arrived at the farm we were greeted by the staff with “Welcome Home” greetings, but this was not our home (yet) so it was a little awkward.  Then we were hugged by each staff member and I thought, this is strange to be hugged by a group of people I do not even know.  This was just the start of the new encounters that would define our week and shape our experience of Naz Farm.

The first morning we awoke early to gather for a prayer service; prayer is an integral part of the Naz Farm experience.  We had prayer services in the morning before breakfast, prayer at every breakfast, lunch and dinner, a prayer circle before we left for our work sites, prayers before we started working at our work site (sometimes with the homeowner), two beautiful Eucharistic services, a rosary, a walking rosary and more.  Each prayer brought a sense of purpose, serenity and a sense of the beauty of our Catholic prayer tradition.   We then performed some chores around the farm (charity begins at home) and then had lunch followed by a hike to the highest part of the Naz Farm property.  It was a good 45+ minute hike and at the top we climbed two large rocks and listened to Matt proclaim Elijah’s search for God (1 Kg 19:11-13) from the mountaintop; it was very inspiring!

Each morning our crews would find out where we were working that day and what we would be doing.  We would drive to the work sites, sometimes an hour away, then meet the homeowner talking with them before starting our work.  I had a great crew of four young men who worked very hard without complaint; we got a lot accomplished and they seemed to have a real sense of how their efforts were really making a difference.   This happened each day except for Thursday when our crew was “home crew” which meant we helped around the farm, preparing meals with Sister Paula, cleaning the house and being the “greeters” when the rest of the crews came back from their work sites.  It gave us a real sense of service and appreciation for what others do for us that we sometimes take for granted.

The most unexpected experience was on Thursday evening when each volunteer would answer the question, “Where did you encounter God this week?”.   The answers were as varied and heart-warming as the volunteers who were there.  When it came to my reflection I had two main thoughts, the first was from an encounter with a man from the local community who told me, “You were meant (by God) to be here” and “Your daughter is a gift to you and you to her!”  Wow, what an unexpected encounter; it was as though God was speaking directly to me through this man!  The second was my realization and recognition of the inspiration I felt by seeing all the young people who are committed to their faith, reflective in their prayers and responses and the overall respectfulness of each!  It really gave a sense of hope in the future of the Church and a sense that God is moving in our young people!

Our last work day was an abbreviated day; we worked the morning only, had lunch and then shared “affirmations” with each member of the group.  It was encouraging to hear how each of us had grown to appreciate and recognize the talents of each member of our group.

We awoke Saturday morning, earlier than other mornings, and the realization hit us that the week was over; a sadness came over everyone yet with a thankful joyfulness of the week we had just experienced.   The last prayer service was very unique and really touched every volunteer, chaperone and Naz Farm staff member.   After the prayer service I shared a story about Rachael, because it was her birthday --- every person in the room was emotional, including myself.   I later heard from one of my fellow male chaperones; “Great, you even made the father’s cry!”  Before we left we had one more prayer circle and then everyone hugged each other; these hugs felt so much different from the beginning of the week because we had grown together in God’s love and were now truly friends!

So, what is it about Nazareth Farm … it is a great ‘microcosm’ of how to live our Catholic faith in prayer and service; in a word an “UNBELIEVABLE” experience!

Falling in Love with West Virginia

Our Apple Butter Float

The fall is a time when we as a staff are able to grow together and experience the special place that is WV for ourselves. 3 new staff members joined us in September and October - Teresa, Andi, and Natalie. We participated in Salem's Apple Butter Festival, went on a staff retreat in the Adirondacks, completed a few windows and small roofs, and made the Farm our own.

After over a month of staff weeks (full of various days of cleaning, retreating, hiking, doing home repair, and more!) everyone readily welcomed home 2 weeks of college students this fall. Our usual groups from Notre Dame, Creighton, St. Francis, and Aquinas joined us. With their help we completed a trailer roof, re-roofed the back half of our friends' home, and built a giant porch!

The staff at Niagara Falls on our way to our retreat

The staff on top of Snowy Mountain during retreat

(Chevy) Chase, our new truck!

A new roof for Jerry's shed

Bert and Roxanne's beautiful porch!

Here Come the High Schooelers!

Many students think of June as a time for vacation, but we were blessed to have a bunch of students and adults join us in working around the Farm, in the gardens, and out on worksites. We were able to complete 4 roofs, 4 porches, 1 addition, 1 siding site, and 1 painting site along with tons of Farm and garden projects.
Our ladders received a new covering and the White Barn started getting scraped.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of sites!

Ivena's leak-free roof

Richard and family's new porch

Judy's newly painted house!

Sharin's new 1st story roof!

Rosemary's Porch

Eric + Amy's Porch

Brussel Sprouts!

Betty's New Porch           

JoAnn's New Roof!

End of Summer Wrap-Up

August is a favorite month for many staff members because of Family Week. This year wasn't any different! Most of the volunteers were under the age of 13, but it didn't stop the work. All the homeowner accommodated the little ones with cartoons, popsicles, snacks, swing-sets, and love.
We also hosted 2 great weeks of high school students to finish up the trifecta. As the last group left, staff members were sad to see the summer end but delighted for the naps to follow!

Connie's Underpinning

Friederike's Newly Painted House!

Kelly's Fence

Christina's New Blue Roof

Tim and Donna's Painted House

Debra's New Siding

New Siding in Pennsboro!

Working on the siding

Joel's Sturdy Floor

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Hello everyone!
As you probably know, we have our own Christmas traditions here at the Farm and our annual Christmas party is coming up.  Each December we take a break from home repair and focus on sharing the joy of the holiday season with our Doddridge county community.  We visit all of the families that we have worked with over the course of the year and bring them gifts and cookies.  Also, we send a thank you cookie package to all the wonderful businesses the work with us.  It all culminates with a big party for the children of the area.  We have music, games, face painting, crafts, and Santa has a toy and at least one book for every child.

            The only way that we can do this is through the help and generosity of others. For those of you who came here this year, maybe you want to sponsor a family that you worked with.  Here are some things to think about.  Maybe your family wants to sponsor a family.  Maybe your church or youth group wants to sponsor a family.  Maybe you want to pool some money with your work crew.  If you do decide to sponsor someone you could set aside time to pray for them throughout the holiday season.  If you haven’t been to the farm in a while you can donate to the general Christmas fund.   

Anything that you all are able to do is appreciated. We generally spend around $15/person. If you do wish to sponsor a family let us know before Thanksgiving so we can plan accordingly. You can let us know by calling or emailing the Farm. Lastly, if you want to send or email any Christmas cards or messages we would love to pass them on. Merry Christmas!

                        

July, July

July came in hot, and it hasn't let up. Fortunately our volunteers remained unfazed by the heat (though all our staff members can't say the same!) We had wonderful groups from Kentucky, Massachusetts, Illinois, Indiana, California, Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland. Volunteers embraced the cornerstones for the week, and wanted to make some concrete changes back at home.

We were able to complete some beautiful projects for ever better homeowners. Many lunches, hugs, stories, and jokes were shared during the group weeks.

Almost Finished Roofover!

Mike and Donna's New Stairs

Kim's New Ramp

Friederike's Newly Painted House!

Rosa's New Porch Roof

Betty and Toni's New Porch

Candis' New Siding