Working Together Despite The Pandemic

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it has sometimes been a struggle to remain connected to the parish community. As we’ve learned to navigate a “new normal,” Fr. Tony wanted to develop a ministry that would bring people together to allow people to both serve the parish and build fellowship, while still maintaining safety protocols — thus, to enhance the “stewardship way of life.” The ministry helps in augmenting costs of jobs contracted out, especially during this pandemic when our collections are down.

Fr. Tony approached parishioner Toni McPeek, who agreed to coordinate a Saturday workgroup in Waimea. So, the first meeting was held on Nov. 21 to plan and strategically organize the work to be done during this pandemic.

Toni McPeek shared, “When we started the workgroup, we were surprised at the good turnout of volunteers who shared their time and talent with us. We have a wide variety of parishioners who come — young families, young adults, and even our kupunas. A family working together bonds them more, and it shows. Children may ask the parents why they are doing this, and the parents can teach them why and who they are doing it for. It’s a great way to get families back to church, and, hopefully, it can inspire other families.

“The group meets every other Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to noon in Waimea. Fr. Tony has organized parishioners who go to our mission Church in Puako on alternate Saturdays for similar work on the grounds there — and he joins them there as well.

“We go around and clean, cut the grass, trim trees, and beautify the church grounds. We have people that go in and clean the areas of the church, parish hall and storage rooms from top to bottom, including windows. Before Christmas, we had people decorate. There are a lot of jobs to do around here!

“We keep our masks on and work at a safe distance — it’s really important to us to make sure everyone is safe. It’s volunteer-based. We have a steady core group that always comes, but others come and go. We’ve had up to 25 people at a time, but the projects we have are spread out all over the parish grounds.

“Just before noon, small groups will come in shifts for some lunch and drinks provided by the parish, as well as parishioners who are ‘excellent chefs.’ The half-day project, with a big-delicious meal provided, is a perfect opportunity for parishioners of all ages to get involved.

“The fellowship that parishioners have found in this group has been rewarding for everyone involved. Since the parish is closely following COVID-19 safety precautions, this ministry is just one way that we can reconnect to the parish community while also keeping each other safe.

“Since we take precautions very seriously, our church is probably one of the safer places to meet. Our workgroup allows parishioners to see friends and other parishioners they haven’t seen in a while and helps them to feel like part of the parish family again. I think it can really help them to not lose sight of what our faith is all about, see that our church is a safe place to be and that they are more than welcome here.

“It has been so rewarding to see the joy in their eyes [because of the masks]. They are doing some hard work, but there’s this joy that they are doing the work with their parish ohana. You can see that they really enjoy it. We always get comments from people that it’s so wonderful to be around people again. COVID has kept us away from each other, but we’ve found a way to be together safely.

“I’ve always been involved with my parish community, and I really enjoy being a part of it,” Toni says. “It can be a challenge at times, but that’s all a part of the faith-growing experience. Hopefully, even when COVID goes away, we can continue this, and we may even get more help! We understand why a lot of people can’t come now — but whenever it goes away, I think we will get more.”

Fr. Tony hopes that this workgroup will be sustained as a new stewardship ministry in the parish that will continue even after the pandemic is over.