“The community of believers,” the scriptures say, “was of one mind and heart” (Acts 4:32) ...I’d like to add, the community of believers worked like dogs!  Last Friday we had a lot going on here. Ben, our maintenance chief, was working with the men’s club and Knights of Columbus on replacing 230 bleacher seats in the gym. The playground equipment in the back had several people working hard, and the new art tables had just come in. Sister Mary Agnes and I worked with a dozen adolescents who volunteered to stay after school and away we went.

The old art tables had been computer tables in a prior life before becoming art tables. They were 9 ½ long, 6 feet wide and (soft as a downy chick) heavier than I had imagined. You should have seen the kids work! We turned them over and took off the legs, which helped reduce the weight a bit so we could get them out the door. God bless the dad who came with his son! I asked him if he could run a skill saw…he replied in the affirmative. In the vestibule we stacked up the old tables and he cut them in half so we could manage the weight down a few steps.  That took a person or two on cleanup as saw dust fly everywhere…. sawdust makes for a nice dance floor, but that was not our objective.

Then there was the assembly of the ten new tables. The students divided and conquered, operating the little wrenches that came in each kit with great manual dexterity. Two hundred screws and forty bolts later, by 5:15 we were done with the dismantling and assembly. What a great teamwork!  My maximizer strength was fully reinforced, and I limped home after all that with a smile on my face. I love working together and learning together. it is truly beautiful when the two come together with harmony.

That’s all in the first week of school. I wonder what else the Good Lord has in store. One thing is certain: there are many more graces in queue.

Sister Mary Michael