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Changing hearts
archived from: 2005-03-11
by: Patricia Bartos

Sister Donna Stephenson is always impressed by the spirit of her young volunteers.

“They are grateful for their place in life, for the many blessings they’ve received and they want to give back,” said Sister Donna, who coordinates the Change a Heart year-long volunteer program for recent college graduates begun by her Millvale Franciscan order six years ago.

Since then, 20 young volunteers (five of them men) have cycled through the experience, serving in area ministries and in the sisters’ mission in Puerto Rico before moving on to a career or graduate studies.

The volunteers focus on serving the poor while living in community, sharing a simple lifestyle and growing spiritually.

“Most say they’ve been truly blessed,” Sister Donna said. “They come because of the idea of personal and spiritual growth. It feels like a call from God. Often they see it as an opportunity to discern and figure out what’s next for them. It changes their life.”

This year’s class of four young women began last fall and they are now midway through the experience.

Becky Chapman of Akron, Ohio, holds a degree in nursing from the University of Akron. She is working in the Sto-Rox Family Health Center operated by Focus on Renewal in McKees Rocks, living in community in the order’s discernment house in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.

Teresa McInnis of Seattle, Wash., a graduate of Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, works with Alzheimer’s disease patients at the order’s St. Francis Center for Respite and Rehabilitation in Cayey and Cidra, Puerto Rico. Teresa lives with the sisters.

Alicia Hartle of Saxonburg graduated from Grove City College and is working with Catholic Charities’ WIN (Women in Need) program in Waynesburg. Amanda Douvier of Albany, Minn., a graduate of the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., works at the Corner Cupboard Food Pantry in Waynesburg. The two are living with Sister Conchetta LoPresti.

Change a Heart is designed to engage young adults in work with the poor. It is not a vocations program.

“Our community saw it as a way to stay in touch with young people and to help them develop leadership skills and work with the poor,” Sister Donna said. “We see this as an extension of the Millvale Franciscans. They’re serving in places that we can’t.”

She said of the young volunteers, “I’m always very touched by the depth of their prayer, their willingness to be stretched and challenged, leaving all else behind to learn new things.”

Douvier felt a deep sense of gratitude for the blessings in her life.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I decided to take a year to help out in whatever God was calling me to do, before going back and resume my life,” she said.

She wants eventually to pursue pastoral ministry, aiming for chaplaincy work with the elderly. “That’s where my passion lies,” Douvier said.

She realizes that “just being an extra set of hands” is important when finances are tight in agencies that serve the poor. Her entire operation is able to employ just two full-time people. Community life has also been a good experience, Douvier said.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself and where I want to go from here.”

Chapman explained that, “I really felt the Lord was telling me to look into it.”

“I prayed about it,” she said. “I didn’t want to go to work right away, I wanted to give back to God for the blessings I’ve received. I’ve been learning a lot, trusting that God has led me where he wanted me.”

When she returns home, Chapman, who formerly worked as a nurse technician in a cardiac care unit, wants to focus on pediatrics.

The volunteers’ year will end in late July with a two-day transition retreat and a commissioning service in the motherhouse chapel. This gives them a chance to tell what the year has meant to them.

“We bless them and send them forth,” Sister Donna said. Former volunteers also attend. Call Sister Donna at 412-821-0861 for information on the volunteer program.

The fourth annual Hearts and Hands Gala to help cover costs of the program will be held Saturday, April 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Treesdale Community Center in Gibsonia.

Included will be a fine art auction by Ross Galleries, wine and chocolate tasting, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction. Call 412-821-0861 or e-mail volunteer@millvalefranciscans.org for tickets at $20.

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