The Logistics of Showing Up

Dec 5, 2023

2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteer, Anna Nowalk

Anna Nowalk, Precious Blood Volunteer

When I heard that the general stipend for Precious Blood Volunteers was $250 per month, plus an additional food stipend, I was confident in my ability to spend within that budget. Sure, my coffee beans might get a little pricey, but my food and housing were already covered, so really, what else was there?

In my volunteer covenant, I wrote that I would not spend over the provided amount, figuring it was a fairly low bar. What I didn’t sufficiently consider was the cost of travel: a single round trip to see my family at Thanksgiving was over my monthly budget. My parents have kindly agreed to sponsor my holiday flights to Pittsburgh, but without being able to rely on their resources or my own sav- ings, seeing my family during the holidays would be in a far more precarious position.

Transportation may not be considered a “need” like food, water, shelter, or air, but I’ve gained an increased understanding of its importance during my time as a Volunteer. This is the first time that I’ve lived far enough from home that a plane ride is my only real travel option. I actually purchased multiple tickets within the same month in an attempt to avoid the higher prices I (correctly) feared I’d come across if I waited. However, I recognize that not everyone has the means to drop hundreds of dollars at once on multiple flights, especially if they’re living paycheck-to-pay-check. I’m privileged enough that attempting to live on a Volunteer stipend can be an experiment, rather than a necessity; on solely a Volunteer budget, it’s possible that price increases may have continuously put a trip out of my reach, even if I eventually saved enough to have purchased the original flights together.

Anna Nowalk, far left, at PBMR with Sr. Carolyn Hoying, Diana Rubio and Sr. Pauline Siesegh

The cost of long-distance travel and the way it can impact the time we spend with our loved ones isn’t the only realization I’ve had. I didn’t bring a car with me when I moved, and after having attended a university in New York City for four years, I frankly don’t trust my driving skills enough to get on the road. As such, I have to rely on one of my housemates for a ride to and from Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR), my Volunteer placement, putting me at the mercy of their schedules. When I get home late, it’s often because I’m being driven home by someone who is transporting participants. Sometimes this takes five minutes; sometimes it takes 30. Taking people home is a time-consuming task.

When this means getting home at 7:30 pm, the loss of personal time can be frustrating. And yet, a person’s ability to simply get to PBMR is the foundation upon which many of our activities rest. Participants can’t participate in certain activities without being at the locations in which they’re happening.

The importance of location extends beyond mere logistics. PBMR strives to create a safe space for participants, a place where community members can feel at peace and at home. Even in the pandemic, the organization continued to provide in-person services.

The center on S. Elizabeth Street and The Front Porch nearby are spaces where community can grow. Togetherness in physical space underlies one of our core values: radical hospitality. When I think of radical hospitality, I imagine people welcoming others into a space. When I think of accompaniment, I visualize a person walking alongside someone else. These tenets of PBMR conjure images of care made tangible by the presence of a loving person. The phrase “ministry of presence” is an apt way to describe what PBMR aims to provide: relationship comes before programming. We’re here for people. We show up.

Transportation determines our interactions with space, and consequently, with our work and with others. The availability of safe, convenient and affordable transportation shapes whether we can hug the people we love, as well as our access a safe space, whether we desire to find healing there ourselves or want to accompany others. Transportation governs our ability to literally show up.

There’s a strong argument to be made that sometimes, the destination is more important than the journey, especially when the destination is a place like PBMR and the journey is an hour-long bus ride. Nevertheless, arrival at the destination cannot happen without an accessible and functional mode of transportation. While it may not be a “need” in the proper sense, it is certainly a necessity.

Anna is serving as a Precious Blood Volunteer at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Chicago, Illinois. Go to preciousbloodvolunteers.org to learn more about Precious Blood Volunteers.

2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteers: Clare Brown

Jul 13, 2023

2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteer, Clare Brown

Meet Clare Brown! She’s one of the 2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteers.

Clare is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. She earned a degree in sociology, along with supplementary majors in peace studies, and education, schooling and society. Clare is from Arlington Heights, Illinois. She will be serving at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR) in Chicago, Illinois.

Why do you want to volunteer?

“Studying Sociology, Peace Studies, and ESS at Notre Dame greatly increased my awareness of the many ways in which interconnected structures of violence and systemic inequality perpetuate injustice within society. At the same time, my faith calls me to create God’s vision for the world despite the many complex challenges we face. I want to volunteer because it provides an opportunity to put both my education and my faith into action in pursuit of the common good.”

Why do you want to volunteer with Precious Blood Volunteers?

“I was drawn to Precious Blood Volunteers specifically because of its emphasis on seeking reconciliation and deep commitment to accompanying marginalized people. I wanted to be a part of an organization whose work contributes to making a world rooted in peace, justice, and compassion ever more possible and imminent every day. Additionally, I am looking to gain knowledge and skills related to restorative justice, and the placement at PBMR provides an opportunity to learn from people who are doing amazing work in that area.”

What are you looking forward to about your volunteer experience?

“I am looking forward to learning from the work of PBMR and the many ways in which they practice restorative justice in concrete ways. I know that I have much to learn, and I am excited to learn with and from others in the community! I can’t wait to see how God will surprise me throughout my volunteer year with relationships and challenges that push me to grow in empathy, curiosity, and commitment to the flourishing of all people.”

Learn more about Precious Blood Volunteers at preciousbloodvolunteers.org.

Introducing the 2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteers!

Jul 12, 2023

2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteer, Abigail Standish

2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteer, Claire Downs

2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteer, Clare Brown

2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteer, Anna Nowalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re excited to announce the 2023-2024 Precious Blood Volunteers!

We have four wonderful young women who will be starting in late July. These four will join us for Orientation which starts on July 30, 2023 and ends on August 5, 2023. Two of them will be living in community at Jerusalem Farm in Kansas City, Missouri. The other two will be living in community with the Dayton Precious Blood sisters in Chicago.

Our two volunteers in Kansas City will be working at two different placements. Abigail Standish will be serving as coordinator of Bishop Sullivan Center’s “Order Ahead” program. Claire Downs will be serving as a community health worker at KC CARE Health Center. Abigail is from the Houston area, and Claire is a fellow Texan from the Dallas area. Abigail is our first volunteer from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. Claire is our second volunteer from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Clare Brown and Anna Nowalk will be serving in Chicago at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR). Clare is from the Chicago area, and Anna is from Virginia. Anna is our first volunteer who matriculated from Fordham University. Clare is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

Over the next several days we will be introducing them here on our website and on our social media feeds. Keep a look out for them!

Please keep our volunteers in your prayers as they begin their service. If you’d like to send them a note of support please send us an email at volunteers@preciousbloodkc.org.

Learn more about Precious Blood Volunteers at preciousbloodvolunteers.org.

Volunteers Serve in Many Ways

Mar 29, 2023

Aaron Wise (2021), at work at KC CARE Health Center


By Tim Deveney, Precious Blood Volunteers Director

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, speak at the Ignatian Solidarity Network’s Teach-in for Social Justice. Fr. Boyle said we need to not “settle for just shaking your fist, roll up your sleeves to create the place where we cherish each other with every breath.” Over the last 10 years, I have seen Precious Blood Volunteers do exactly this. 

Precious Blood Volunteers is a ministry of the United States Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Our volunteers serve at one of our placements in Kansas City or Chicago.

They are formed in Precious Blood spirituality by living in intentional community, walking with people who are suffering, and seeking reconciliation. 

The program was created in 2008 by the Kansas City Province. Marie Trout, then director of Companions, and Fr. Al Ebach, C.PP.S., came up with a plan to give an opportunity for lay people to live in service to others for a year as a part of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

Thomas (front), Michael, Mike, and Allison (2020) at Orientation at Precious Blood Renewal Center in Liberty

Since that time we have had volunteers serving people at Catholic schools, health clinics, social service centers, a hospital, an LGBTQ service center, parishes, a legal aid clinic, and at the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation. Our volunteers have gone on to careers in medicine, education, nonprofit management, ministry and engineering. 

The volunteers who serve with us are often right out of college, but we have had people in other stages of their lives, including people in their 30s, 60s and 70s.

Our volunteers have served in a variety of roles, including teaching, mentoring, tutoring, campus ministry and coaching at Cristo Rey Kansas City High School. In Chicago at PBMR, our volunteers have worked in arts and music programs, tutoring, the woodshop, the garden, and in peace circle training. 

At Bishop Sullivan Center in Kansas City, our volunteers have helped in the food pantry, run the free restaurant, and assisted people needing help paying their utility bills. We have had volunteers serve as medical assistants at KC Care Health Center, which serves anyone regardless of their ability to pay for care.

Brooke Buth (2018) with a student at Cristo Rey KC

I am excited about what we have coming for the next volunteer cycle. Currently we have four young people committed to serving with us and we are working on finding a few more to round out the 2023–24 cohort. 

The volunteer cycle starts in late July with our orientation retreat at the Precious Blood Renewal Center (PBRC) in Liberty, Mo. During orientation, our new volunteers learn more about the Precious Blood spirituality and charism, have time to reflect on what they are being called to in their service, and better understand the expectations we have for them in their work and community life. 

Each month they will participate in spirituality/justice nights, when volunteers share the blessings and challenges of the work they are doing. We hope to have people from throughout the Precious Blood Community lead these meetings. 

Our volunteers also participate in two retreats and have other opportunities for spiritual growth. The mid-year retreat is scheduled for

Lina Guerrero (2018) with Sister Donna at PBMR

February in Chicago. At that retreat, our Kansas City based volunteers see where our Chicago-based volunteers serve and live. The mid-year retreat’s focus is seeing where God has worked in their lives over the first half of their term of service and to help them develop a focus for the last few months. 

The second last retreat is the end of year at PBRC. At this retreat, volunteers reflect on how God has worked in their lives over their term of service and to see how they want to carry forward what they have experienced. We will help our volunteers find a spiritual director if they seek it out. 

We would love to have your help in supporting our volunteers and the program in general. The most important item on the list is praying for them. Many of our volunteers have told me they felt the prayerful support of the Precious Blood community. 

Vincent Tedford (2021) working with a student at PBMR

Another way to support the volunteers is to send them cards or emails letting them know you are praying for them. If you’re in Chicago or Kansas City, you can invite them to your home for dinner, take them out for a meal or coffee, or invite them to share their experiences at a Companions gathering or Community night. If you have a background in spiritual direction or companionship you can serve as a spiritual director for one of our volunteers. 

You can follow along with what is happening with Precious Blood Volunteers by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

Tim Deveney is the director of Precious Blood Volunteers. Go to preciousbloodvolunteers.org to learn more about Precious Blood Volunteers. 



Volunteer Commitment Is Transformative Experience

Nov 7, 2022

Kara McNamara

By Kara McNamara, Precious Blood Volunteer Alumna

I have always been an avid reader. One of my favorite books is “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë. When I first read it in high school, I was focused on the dramatic romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester at the center of the Gothic story. Over the years, as I’ve revisited the book, other important themes emerged: autonomy, social class, the hospitality of strangers, mental health, and morality. I have been delighted by the ways in which a story can continue to have new meaning, even when the words remain the same. Every time I read the story, I am different and the lens through which I view it changes.

Kara and fellow PBV, Leah on the Navajo Nation

The same is true for the meaning and impact of my time as a Precious Blood Volunteer! I have enjoyed the presence of Precious Blood people and Precious Blood spirituality in my life for nearly 10 years. It amazes me that what started as a six-month commitment as a volunteer on the Navajo reservation has become a formative, transformative experience and way of looking at the world. In that time as a volunteer, I learned so much about myself, spirituality, ministry of presence, and the inherent dignity of the human person. Ten years later, I continue to pursue growth in those areas and to find connections in my everyday life now, long after I left Crownpoint, New Mexico.

This formational time as a volunteer and the resulting connections with Precious Blood members and Companions taught me to recognize and follow “the cry of the blood.” That cry felt (and still feels) like a personal and irresistible invitation from God to be present to the needs of others.

I followed that call into working with youth in the nonprofit sector for several years before returning to graduate school for a master’s degree in counseling. It was obvious to me that in order to further pursue the call to support and serve others, I had some things to learn! I worked as a high school counselor for a few years, and with my professional focus on mental health and trauma-informed care for my students, I truly felt that the tenets of the Precious Blood Volunteer program to walk with those who suffer and to build community lived on in my work. The high school where I worked also implemented restorative practices, and I was extremely interested in the pursuit of reconciliation in that context.

“It amazes me that what started as a six-month commitment as a volunteer on the Navajo reservation has become a formative, transformative experience and way of looking at the world.”

Kara with her husband, Jack, and their daughter, Clare

This interest led me to my current work for the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition, which provides training and support to those who minister to people affected by incarceration or detention. I am the communications manager for the organization, which means it is my work to invite people to discover their own call to seek reconciliation, be present to the needs of others, and work for justice.

In doing this work, I truly have felt the ordinary transform into the sacred. I may be working away on a laptop at home, but I am listening to the needs of people, I am helping to train the next generation of prison ministers, and I am working toward the creation of a justice system that upholds the dignity of every human person. It has been simultaneously grounding and energizing.

As an added bonus, after years of following the impact of the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, I enjoyed the experience of learning from Fr. David Kelly and Sr. Donna Liette through two (excellent) CPMC webinars earlier this year. I am grateful to have a job that aligns my personal values and sense of vocation with my professional tasks.

The story continues. I am grateful for the day I thumbed through the Catholic Volunteer Network catalog and found an opportunity that has brought so much good to my life. I never could have guessed all the joy and community that has flowed from that experience, including the sense of joy and community that is present in my personal life. I married my husband Jack four years ago with Fr. Al Ebach, C.PP.S., presiding. When we welcomed our sweet daughter Clare into the world this summer, we did so knowing that so many others were celebrating with us.

I am so grateful that God connected my story with this community and charism.

“We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence.”

-Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre

Kara served in 2013 as a Precious Blood Volunteer at St. Paul Catholic Church in Crownpoint, New Mexico, Navajo Nation. She now works for Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition. Go to preciousbloodvolunteers.org to learn more about Precious Blood Volunteers.