Members of the parish and school families at Sacred Heart, Bath, are coming together to assist those in need with a program they call Helping Hands.
It might be a few home-cooked meals after someone comes home from the hospital. Or, it could be some temporary help around the house, or a visit for someone who craves companionship.
Stephanie Horn and Cindy Markovcy launched the assistance program in April. Both have appreciated the help of others during difficult times in their own lives, and now they relish the chance to pay it forward.
“We’re always looking for others who can volunteer their time,” says Markovcy, “either for hands-on tasks like cooking or housecleaning, or simply by praying for those in need.” The group, which has about 30 volunteers, also extends its services to those Sacred Heart School families who are not Catholic.
“Meals are especially easy for me,” says Horn, a mother of eight. “I’m used to cooking for an army anyway.”
The women see the program as a real-life example of the way Catholics can serve others by practicing corporal and spiritual works of mercy, actions that extend God’s compassion to those in need.
Through their strong faith and determination, Horn and Markovcy have begun an assistance and outreach network that will benefit people in the Sacred Heart community for years to come. They are quick to deflect any credit, however. “In my mind,” says Horn, “this is simply the way people in a parish family take care of one another.”
“Because We Are Catholic” tells the stories of how the people of the Diocese of Allentown make a difference in the lives of others, bringing the Light of Christ to each other and to our community.
