By Andrea Fitzsimons
May 20, 2021
Volunteering with Holy Rosary Parish’s renovation project for newcomers to Canada has been a life-giving experience. I wanted to share a short update about the project. For those who don’t know me, I am a practicing Catholic, live in Ottawa, love neighbourhood scones and puppies, and talk to everyone I meet.
A little background: the “Rectory House” or Rectory for short, is a large red brick building on Wellington St., and is attached to Holy Rosary Church. It was used for British Home Children over a span of about 50 years starting in the late 1800s. Now, it is being renovated mainly by volunteers. The home will support refugees of all faiths in a supervised setting, in partnership with an organization called Matthew House Ottawa in 2022 (pending approval). Once operating, refugees will complete programming with Matthew House Ottawa to start their lives employed and integrating into the fabric of our country. We hope that they help in church projects such as the “Out of the Cold” ministry as part of their volunteerism. This project is about community and involves volunteers of different faiths and people who are not of faith.
I returned to Holy Rosary regularly in August 2020. One Sunday after Mass, I was out for breakfast at the Carleton Tavern and casually asked, “What’s happening with the building on Wellington?”. Once I learned about the renovation project, I was hooked! I put on my work clothes and went on a Saturday morning to work at the rectory. I was greeted warmly by Susan and got my first peek of the many rooms inside what I now call “The Chateau”. She explained the interesting history of the building, its many uses over the years (through the World Wars), and the work volunteers had been doing over the past year as an eager group of home reno renegades.
When I arrived on the scene, there was a flurry of activity! Carpets had been ripped up in two bedrooms by Fernando and Jovial (among others) and they were removing glue with boiling water and various tools. Sophia was filling holes in the walls, Ellen and Emy were staining the wood outside on porches, Chris was doing different tasks and offering his needed expertise, and Blacky had completed a ton of repairs and painting during weekdays (he is in his 70s).
Just a few examples of the progress we’ve made and the people who made it possible!
Over the next few months, we were able to work in small groups of generous volunteers on Saturdays. The groups consisted of different people from our parish and members of the Circle of Friends (more about the Circle can be found in the History section of the parish’s website). On weekdays, special elves with more expertise would come in and continue. Now, I walk through Hintonburg checking out building projects for ideas and go to sleep dreaming about paint colours.
Once the pandemic situation became more serious, we decided to put the Saturday work schedule on hold. I felt the work needed to continue and I was in a position to contribute with Dennis (who worked extremely hard). So, I put on my painting clothes, and we made progress. I’ve learned some things about myself along the way.
One, I don’t love sanding baseboards, but I can tolerate them when I am listening to a podcast or music. Two, I find a lot of satisfaction in using Clorox cleaner on grime found on the baseboards. It’s also more up my alley to write letters asking local businesses to sponsor the project to replace the decades-old toilet (that I may or may not have just broken). Finally, as I have the quiet time to sand, clean and paint, it gives me time to pray. I think warmly of the newcomers who will bustle in the room I am working on and of the people in my life. I pray for the Holy Rosary parishioners, the future of the parish, the vision and how we will get there together.
This Spring, the lockdown accelerated, so we have adapted again by taking our work outside. We are working on improving the gardens. As I prune back the branches on the hedge, Jesus is pruning back the areas of my life, forming me into a better person. This time of reflection has allowed Susan to think about how we can work faster to get the rooms done when the indoor work starts again. We are learning and growing.
I’ll be honest, 2021 was lonelier working solo sometimes compared to the laughter had with friends and eating the tasty food that Ahlem would bring. One day, while working alone, I dropped a fully loaded paintbrush on the part of the floor I hadn’t covered and at at the same time I dropped a swear word. I noted, I didn’t seem to swear as much when my belly was full with Ahlem’s food. It could be because when there were meals, there were bystanders!
There have still been blessings and I am hooked on the vision. Words cannot express my thanks to all the volunteers who have generously donated their time, energy, and heart to this project thus far. It is encouraging that people continue to step forward and commit to helping, as others have had to step back. We need everyone. Thank you to Gilas Management who provided a financial donation to the Circle of Friends to help newcomers and to those who have made other financial and material donations. All in Jesus’ time. It’s all good.
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