BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LINCOLN HEIGHTS -- Many hands may make light work, but in the case of Mary Willis, they also ease a heavy heart.
The 62-year-old Lincoln Heights woman had tried for a long time to get help clearing out more than 200 pounds of broken concrete and debris from her back yard.
She had begun to think the remnants of her barbecue pit and castoff materials from a room addition would become fixtures behind her home.
But with the help of several volunteers from the Anderson, Ind., Park Place Church of God, the stuff was carted away Friday.
"I really appreciate this so much," Ms. Willis said.
About 20 people from the Indiana church, in town to attend the 41st International Youth Convention of the Church of God starting this weekend, helped out.
Besides cleaning out Ms. Willis' back yard, the group of mostly teen-agers helped other senior residents with yard work and trash removal.
They also helped with several Cincinnati Housing Partners construction projects by digging fence post holes, stripping foundations and hauling lumber. They'll return to Lincoln Heights today.
Church members look for volunteer work when they go to out-of-state conferences, group leader and youth minister Curt Walters said. "It's part of what Jesus talked about in Matthew 25," Mr. Walters said. "It's based on those passages -- helping others, being a servant." Bob Buckley, a construction manager with Cincinnati Housing Partners, said the results of such actions are twofold.
"It helps keep the costs on the project down and . . . it makes you feel good," Mr. Buckley said. "This is more than just making a living. They're helping you as you help others."
Sister Ann Rene McConn, general manager and president of Cincinnati Housing Partners, coordinated the volunteers Friday.
A nun with the Sisters of Notre Dame De Namur in Reading, Sister McConn has been building houses in Lincoln Heights for more than a year. Part of a plan to help revitalize the area, she said the organization is now working on its 20th house.
"I call this the street-level experience," she said of the volunteers.
"For the people doing the helping, they learn a lot about how others live and have to learn to suspend their judgment. They learn not to judge. And for those who receive the help, they also learn not to judge. They learn about other people as well."
Sister McConn said she prays while helping others. "I call it the zen of work," she added with a smile.
About 5,000 people are expected at the convention, runs Sunday until Wednesday. It features several Christian entertainers, such as Al Denson and Miles McPherson, and attendees will hold a silent walk from Albert B. Sabin Convention Center to Bicentennial Commons at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
