Mechanicsburg Couple Has Spearheaded a ‘Ministry of Presence’ in Rural Appalachia for a Dozen Years
Glenn and Mary Carnahan of Mechanicsburg were looking for a calling of compassion from which they could live their Catholic faith.
Then the Glenmary Sisters showed up with the Home Mission Outreach, and God named the mission that Glenn and Mary have embarked on for the last 12 years, bringing Christ’s love to underserved communities in Appalachian rural Kentucky.
“We were at a Mass, looking for something to do. A pair of Sisters came and spoke, which they often do in the summer. They were from the Glenmary Sisters,” said Glenn. “We looked at each other and said, ‘The Lord is speaking to us, Glenn and Mary.’ We figured we better go talk to them, which we did.”
“Their mission is to go into areas of the U.S. with a very small Catholic population, to do service and let the people get to know them, not so much to evangelize, but to establish an ecumenical feeling that we are all God’s children, and we are here to serve them.”
That first year, 2014, a group of about half a dozen volunteers from St. Joseph Parish in Mechanicsburg traveled eight hours on four interstate highways to ascertain how to help the 600-person community of Frenchburg, Kentucky, a highly Baptist enclave slightly more than an hour east of Lexington.
“We saw people on very limited incomes, young families. They were often on food stamps, trying to take care of their children in that way,” said Mary.
“Many families were without any younger family members, because oftentimes young people leave the area if they are able to get an education and a job. A lot of older people were left to their own devices trying to take care of their property and their homes,” she said.
In time, the efforts became much more involved: a monthly collection within the parish and a twice-a-year service trip with a trailer full of donations and what the Glenmary Sisters call a “ministry of presence.”
“To be present to the people, regardless of their religious beliefs, to allow us to serve them again as Jesus served,” said Mary.
“I think it helped break down some of the misconceptions that many people in that area had about Roman Catholics and developed some very lovely relationships with people of other faiths, still being able to find common ground,” she said.
One particular Glenmary Sister did a lot of heavy lifting in breaking down the sectarian walls between the St. Joseph’s team and those they were serving.
“Sister Catherine ‘Kathleen’ Mulchrone, she was a real character,” said Mary. “She had a way with people, and was able to break down a lot of barriers and really develop a wonderful relationship with people all over Frenchburg.”
Glenn, Mary and the Glenmarys have found plenty of other characters filled with faith and deep encounters of God’s present love over the last 12 years.
“We met Betty the second year we were there. The Glenmarys were helping her with paperwork to apply for a Habitat for Humanity home. She was living in a trailer with her nephew who had a lot of physical disabilities. The only solution this boy’s mother had was to put him in a home,” Mary explained. “Betty, as a 21-year-old, told her sister, ‘I will take him.’ Betty’s fiancé said he didn’t sign up for this kind of duty, and left. She welcomed Tommy into her home and is still caring for him. She gave her whole life to taking care of him, getting the medical attention he needed.”
“The only question she had was, were we saved? She had heard some things about Catholics. We assured her we were saved at baptism, and we have infant baptism. And she said, ‘Well, then I’m happy to see you.’”
Walls were broken down, and the volunteers built a ramp for their new home – and a continual relationship of Christian love.
That love is now delivered in truckloads, with the creation of a “Little Miracles Center” in Frenchburg with baby clothing, diapers and other key items.
“St. Joseph’s Parish has been very instrumental in putting this together, doing the construction inside the building and painting,” said Mary. “When we ask for items, the parish is just wonderful in donating not just gently used children’s clothing, but brand new clothing for these little kids to wear. It has proved to be just one of the highlights of our trips every year.”
So is the connection with Frenchburg residents like Kathleen Perry, a wheelchair-bound woman who still has the ability to empower St. Joseph’s volunteers with the power of cookies, and the power of connection in Christ.
“It’s just a treat to spend time with people like that,” Mary said.
A treat that Glenn, Mary, the Glenmarys and a team of volunteers from Mechanicsburg engages in twice a year.
To learn more about Glenn and Mary Carnahan and St. Joseph’s efforts with the Glenmary Sisters in Kentucky, visit https://stjosephmech.org/home-mission-outreach.
(Jay Sorgi is a freelance reporter for The Witness. Photos courtesy of Glenn and Mary Carnahan.)
By Jay Sorgi, The Catholic Witness
