Intern Insights

Landscaped with Service: The Motherhouse Grounds
By Zachary Hacker

 

S. Janice Ernst waters the petunias and begonias donated and planted by her niece, Emily Jester, and nephew, Colin Jester, along the front avenue of the Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse.

 

With hard economic times bearing down on the entire globe, it’s safe to say that the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati have been likewise in cut-back mode. Unfortunately, but understandably, that meant less budget for landscaping this year. Without letting the mood and beauty of the grounds decline, a number of family and friends of our Sisters have stepped up and worked to further beautify the Motherhouse grounds.

“Their work has definitely contributed to what we’ve tried to do,” said Motherhouse head groundskeeper Alan Wittich. “Anything that volunteers can do helps us. They’re able to do very time-consuming things.”

Planting petunias and begonias along the front avenue of the Motherhouse, Emily and Colin Jester, niece and nephew of Sister of Charity Janice Ernst, volunteered their time and energy in partial fulfillment of their service hours; Emily will be a senior at McCauley High School in Cincinnati, while Colin is about to make confirmation at St. Ignatius, Cincinnati.

“When we were hanging out with my Aunt Janice, thanks to her recent move to the area, she kept mentioning there weren’t enough flowers [on the Motherhouse grounds],” Emily said. “With my mom, we decided to donate the flowers and do the work.”

Working for three hours combined with their mother and grandmother, they made great progress.

“Before the ground was bare and brown, but now it looks alive and vibrant,” Emily said.

“It looks really beautiful, so we were glad to help,” Colin added.

Despite a few run-ins with deer eating parts of the flowers planted, both received fantastic feedback. “It felt great to do it. Then [S. Janice] brought over a bunch of Sisters who remarked how beautiful it was, which felt even better,” Emily said.

This service is something quite different from what many of Emily’s and Colin’s classmates will be working on. While no less important, the siblings felt they saw a unique impact in their service that is different from previous experiences.

“Working at the Motherhouse felt important. It wasn’t just doing chores for grandma and grandpa,” Colin said.

Emily agreed, “We can normally do service through school, but we found this on our own and it is something that we can keep ongoing.”

Indeed keeping the project ongoing, and speaking to their enjoyment of the experience, the Jesters “plan on coming back in the fall to plant perennials,” Emily said.

S. Janice Ernst commented on their work, “I was thrilled from the moment their mother brought the idea up. Having been a former teacher, I know how important those [service opportunities] are. It’s a great project, and I really want youngsters exposed to Sisters. I can’t wait to get them back to help with mulching.”

Emily and Colin have inspired even further service. Father Chuck Roland, who was in town from Florida visiting Sister of Charity Mary Robers, noticed the Jester family planting and “a couple days later he came back with 18 plants,” S. Mary said.

“He dug the holes, his sister put the plants in and I covered them with soil,” she elaborated. “I had no idea he even noticed there were no flowers there and certainly didn’t expect him to plant any.” However, Father Roland took the initiative to help get the grounds looking even more beautiful, planting the flowers on the left side of the front entrance.

After seeing the fruits of their labor prosper, S. Mary “sent Father Chuck pictures of his flowers. He teased [her], ‘It’s the S. Mary Robers memorial,’” to which S. Mary laughingly responded, “Hey there! Not yet it’s not!” Rather, the two sections of the grounds are tributes to the Sisters of Charity, and their ability to inspire acts of charity.

It’s comforting to know that amidst challenges, there are individuals within the community who are willing to step forward, make sacrifices, and help the Motherhouse endure beautifully. The flowers planted and the soil tended by friends and family of Sisters Janice and Mary brighten up the Motherhouse grounds, and promise to continue into the future.

07/22/10

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Zachary Hacker is a junior at the College of Mount St. Joseph majoring in history and English. He is a cooperative education student in the SC Communications Office this fall 2009 and spring 2010. The co-op program is funded by an SC Ministry grant through the College of Mount St. Joseph.

 

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