Catholic churches in central Arkansas will come together for ShareFest this year and have chosen Little Rock’s Catholic cemetery as its project.
On Saturday, Oct. 27 families and individuals will meet at Calvary Cemetery at 8:30 a.m. to clean and beautify the grounds, fence and gravestones, said Sandy DeCoursey, outreach director at Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
“My hope is we will all come together and benefit the Catholic community and the community at large,” she said.
Christ the King has participated in Sharefest, a city-wide ecumenical service project, since it began in 1999. DeCoursey said the staff members and volunteers from Little Rock and North Little Rock churches have been meeting since January to share ideas and coordinate schedules. She said it was agreed that working together on ShareFest would be another way for the churches in Pulaski County to unify.
One of the main projects is scrubbing, sanding and painting a 3,559-foot black wrought-iron fence around the property. DeCoursey said the fence was erected in 1827 and has not been painted in 25 to 30 years.
Other projects include:
power-washing or hand cleaning the monuments and headstones
painting the soffit around the mausoleum
sprucing up the Garden of Angels area and Priest’s Circle
lawn maintenance and landscaping
She said these projects are not possible for the Diocese of Little Rock to handle with a two-man cemetery staff.
Four churches — St. Augustine in North Little Rock, Our Lady of the Holy Souls and St. Edward in Little Rock and St. Joseph in Conway — and two high schools — Catholic High School and Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock — have committed to sending team members. She said she is hopeful other churches will join in to improve the cemetery, especially for All Souls Day Nov. 2.
“That is such hallowed ground,” she said.
ShareFest is open to all Catholics, including families. Those participating are asked to bring their own lawn chairs, blankets and and supplies, including gloves, trash bags, buckets, garden tools, paint brushes and sandpaper.
“Basically, workers should come equipped to do the job they would like to tackle,” DeCoursey said.
A free lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. The day will end at 3 p.m. Calvary Cemetery is located at 20th and South Woodrow streets.
Families and individuals should sign up at www.ctklr.com/church/parish_life/ShareFest/sharefest07.htm or call DeCoursey at (501) 225-6774.
“We will take whoever we can get,” she said. “God will send who needs to be here.”
