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March 17, 2023By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press
Seven retirees repainted the church hall for their parish, Mary, Queen of the Rosary in Spencer.
“The majority of the crew are 80-years-plus, but yet you find them on ladders, scaffolding and down on the floor getting the baseboards,” marveled Kelly Sullivan, the parish’s director of religious education. “They have been working hard … and the laughter, comradery and sheer pleasure in doing this work is evident with this bunch.”
“They all give of themselves, not only helping to paint but in various other ministries in our church,” she said. “They are the hands and feet of Jesus!” And, she said, “They have so many things they could be doing in their retirement.”
“We’re … very thankful for people who respond to the call to help with the parish,” said Father William Schipper, pastor. “Obviously, younger people can’t come, because they’re working. It’s not that some of them don’t want to.”
“The irony of it is, almost all of us are over 80 years old,” said Albert Shedyak, 81, one of the painters. “We are the age group that still volunteers. … We love our priest, and we love our church.”
Father Schipper expressed hope that parishioners of all ages will volunteer – and practice the faith. He said there are many ways people can participate, from being Scout leaders to helping with social gatherings.
The painters told The Catholic Free Press how they started this project.
Last summer the parish got new chairs for the hall, said Richard Braney, at 73 the second-youngest painter.
“We’re sitting looking at all these new chairs and the floor is old and tired,” he said. Then the parish got a vendor to replace the floor.
“So now we’ve got this beautiful floor and all these new chairs, and the hall still looks tired” because the walls needed repainting, said Mr. Braney who volunteers doing parish accounting. He told Father Schipper
about parishioners who might be interested in painting the hall.Conrad Goodreau, an 82-year-old usher, said the pastor asked if he’d be interested.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Mr. Goodreau responded.
“Actually, it came at a good time,” he said; in the winter, there’s nothing to do. And, he said, “Us old guys – we’re used to working hard all our lives.”
“I was the oldest painter there,” said Gerard Martin, 87. “I loved it. It was good companionship.”
William Wall Jr., 67, the “kid” of the group, said he retired last March, so Mr. Goodreau recruited him.
“We did it because Father asked us,” said John Wilson, 80. “It was a lot of fun … and a lot of work. … We’re glad it’s done and we’ve (received) quite a few compliments.”
Ronald Fortin, 80, said their pastor was very appreciative and “very helpful if we needed anything.”
Others were helpful too. Mr. Fortin said some of the painters’ wives sent food, and a parishioner brought donuts.
Kenneth Choquette, the parish’s facilities and cemetery manager, frequently brought lunch, paid for by the church, Mr. Braney said.
He said the painters worked each weekday for about four weeks, each man coming when he could, sometimes for seven hours a day. They finished the job Feb. 27.
Was painting it hard for men their age?
“No,” Mr. Braney said, “because if you got tired you went and sat down and got a coffee and a muffin.”
The painters said they worked well together.
“My main job was to aggravate everybody,” quipped Mr. Goodreau, the unofficial foreman. “We had a lot of fun.”
“I was the one with the young knees,” said Mr. Wall, who did work on the floor. “That was a good part. We had a diverse group … tall people, short people, ladder people, non-ladder people.”
The painters brought the equipment they needed that the parish did not have, and the parish paid for materials, Father Schipper said.
Mr. Goodreau said the hall is at least 100 feet long.
Mr. Braney said he thought they used 34 gallons of paint, mostly off-white, with tan for the trim. There was quite a debate about “the Mary Wall” behind the image of the Blessed Mother, he said.
“Every day it changed, whether we were going to paint it blue,” he said. “In the end, I think the decision was Father’s. … One day a couple of gallons showed up.” The paint was a very light blue.
“I think every one of us, being homeowners,” painted our houses, Mr. Braney said, but only one worked for a painter.
Father Schipper said the hall - used for religious education, meetings, social gatherings and the food pantry - is “pretty well set” now.
“I don’t believe we would have taken on this task if not for our firm belief in our faith and our admiration for our pastor,” Mr. Braney said. He said that on the last day someone mentioned other work the church needs.
“One of the painters said, ‘Call us next January,’” he recalled. Remarked another, “Yeah, but who’s going to be alive next January; we’re in our 80s.”
But Mr. Goodreau said, “We’re all in pretty good shape.”
And Mr. Wall said he “can’t wait to see what our next project is.”
