Monday, November 29, 1999
Residents of housing project are sister's family
Nun offers food, rent help, love
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
COVINGTON — Sister Emmanuel Bartels can't remember wanting to be anything but a nun.
Sister Emmanuel, who on Saturday celebrated 53 years as a member of the Congregation of Divine Providence, says she's been doing God's will the past six years by handing out candy to children every weekday afternoon in the City Heights housing project, and finding rent assistance money, food and clothes for parents.
Sister Emmanuel and the St. Augustine Parish Center she operates are a haven in what can be a brutal environment.
“I love those kids,” said Sister Emmanuel, a Southgate native. “I believe in God, I believe in the dignity of the human person. Jesus walked with the oppressed, the rejected.”
Kay Ketron, who has lived at City Heights for about two years, visited Sister Emmanuel at the center recently with 8-year-old daughter Theresa.
“She helps a lot of families,” Ms. Ketron said. “You need anything, she helps you. She helps us out during the holidays. I'm glad (the center) is up there.”
It could be that Sister Emmanuel can relate to the needy because she grew up in poverty herself.
“Our family was definitely affected by the Depression,” she said. “We lost our home. We were homeless.”
Sister Emmanuel eventually moved to Cynthiana, where her father took a job as a salesman, and she said the family didn't get back on its feet until 1939.
A memory as vivid as the poverty was Sister Emmanuel's wanting to serve as a nun — down to the frown she saw on the grown-ups' faces and her pretending to wear a nun's habit.
“I knew from my earliest years,” she said. “When I was 3 or 4, I played "sister.' It made me older. I'd put a towel over my head.”
It's easy to mistake the center for one of about 350 City Heights apartments. The 9-year-old facility at 2523 Todd St. doesn't have a sign in the window.
The Rev. Leo Schmidt, pastor at St. Augustine Church on Euclid Avenue, said it didn't matter that Sister Emmanuel's job experience was mostly in food service.
“We just knew that was an area where someone could have a Christian influence,” he said. “She had worked at different ministries like that; she feels enthusiastic about that. She helps people in so many different ways.”
When Sister Emmanuel arrived in 1993, she had little experience dealing with inner-city needs. But she went to numerous city and county agencies — and simply walked around City Heights.
“In the beginning, that's how I got acquainted with these people,” she said.
From 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, Sister Emmanuel is at the center, which takes up two apartments, and she also visits the sick at their homes if needed. Residents can get food Friday mornings, affordable bedding, toys and clothes — or just a caring voice when times are tough.
Vicki Maurer, City Heights site manager, said Sister Emmanuel will not give a handout. In exchange for up to $40 a month in rent assistance, Sister Emmanuel requires four hours' work.
“She is one of the people I can count on to help people in need,” Ms. Maurer said. “She doesn't just give a handout; she expects something in return. People feel a sense of pride, that she doesn't just give a handout.”
As a result, Sister Emmanuel commands respect. The children wait politely outside for candy if she is with a client, and in the spring and summer they help plant a garden.
“I make (a fuss) over them,” she said of the youngsters. “I won't argue with them.”
Sister Emmanuel's most pressing need now is the annual Christmas present program. City Heights residents sign up for items ranging from sweat shirts and socks to radios and kitchen utensils, while various agencies work to provide them.
Will Sister Emmanuel ever leave City Heights? Not until God says so.
“I want to be here as long as what I do gives life,” she said. “I pray for this place every day.”
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