In a room of about 45 people at St. Joseph Church in Conway Nov. 3, all eyes were on Sister Lee Ann McNally, a Sister of Mercy for 47 years.
“You’re lucky because the Razorbacks kick off in 25 minutes and I’m here,” Sister Lee Ann said to the crowd who erupted in laughter.
Even though Sister Lee Ann, executive director of the Center for Women in Transition in Little Rock, was quick to crack a joke, she was also quick to explain the true value in helping others, particularly those who have been incarcerated.
“They are not looking for us to say words to them, but love them for who they are and let them grow into what God wanted them to be in the first place,” Sister Lee Ann said.
Sister Lee Ann was one of three main speakers at the “Lighthouse Day of Enrichment,” sponsored by the parish’s Beacon of Hope Ministry, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The program’s theme, “Becoming a Compassionate Presence,” was meant to light a fire of commitment in the attendees to do more for those most vulnerable in society, including the terminally ill, the grieving and the elderly.
“At first, we were thinking of (the event) as a vehicle to recruit new volunteers,” said Kathy Kordsmeier, Beacon of Hope coordinator. “We decided to open it up to a wider audience … to reach more people in need across our community.”
Kordsmeier, who serves as a part-time chaplain for Hospice Home Care in Little Rock, helped start the ministry for the bereaved, which now has about a dozen volunteers. People are placed wherever their talents lie, which may include working with the grieving, helping to plan events or even attending visitations or funerals for those who may not have a support system.
“It’s an amazing way to encounter people, to be a part of their healing,” Kordsmeier said. “I see myself as walking with them on a journey of healing.”
Community organizations including Conway’s Hospice Home Care, Soul Food Café Mission, Faulkner County’s American Red Cross chapter, City of Hope Outreach in Conway and the Center for Women in Transition had representatives or booths set up for information and volunteer opportunities.
“All these people use and need volunteers,” Kordsmeier said during the program. “Be open to what God is telling you.”
Sister Lee Ann, who has had her own struggles with grief including the loss of her 12-year-old nephew to a rare illness and overcoming breast cancer, began jail ministry in 2001 and opened the center four years later. What she found were not women who needed to know how to balance a checkbook, but those that wanted to learn two things: how to forgive themselves for what they had done and to learn communication skills to make sure their children didn’t follow in their footsteps.
“Never go anyplace and assume what anyone needs,” Sister Lee Ann said.
Tamara Ross, who spent years behind bars for writing bad checks, said, “Judge not, so that you be not judged.” She is now working and earned her associate degree in business administration.
“Sometimes you just need someone to listen,” Ross said after her speech. “You don’t want to feel rejected because of where you came from.”
Kenniann Summerell, community relations director with Griffin Leggett Funeral Homes, said she has shared her tips on grief support for those who have lost loved ones to several community volunteers and chaplains. Summerell said when visiting a grieving person, it’s important to not drop by unannounced and to ask how they are doing, but never make promises you can’t keep.
“I’m a firm believer that the Lord gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason,” Summerell said.
As a member of the St. Joseph Community Assistance Program Lou Knittig, who also works with the church’s cemetery, said learning how to better handle grief-stricken people is an asset.
“I run into a number of situations at the cemetery and mausoleum,” he said. “I wanted a little better understanding, to be more compassionate.”
Sandy Moix, a social worker at the Conway Human Development Center, said she began visiting a local nursing home to see a friend who had a stroke. That was about six to eight years ago, Moix said, and she still visits weekly.
“Every visit ended with them thanking me for coming and telling me they loved me,” Moix said. “What they said touched my heart. Thinking of all the residents who have little or no visitors really made me sad, and I realized that I was making a difference.”
Moix said she attended the program to “fine tune” her skills working with the aging.
“To be more of a presence, rather than the fixer,” Moix said.
Susan McDougal, author of the New York Times 2003 bestseller, “The Woman Who Wouldn’t Talk,” gave attendees an insight into her 18-month prison sentence after being found in contempt of court in the late 1990s. McDougal refused to answer grand jury questions regarding the failed business venture Whitewater Development Corporation, involving former President Bill Clinton. In 2001, she was granted a presidential pardon.
McDougal, who has been a chaplain at UAMS Medical Center for two years, said chaplains learn how to “use the best parts of ourselves and the broken parts of ourselves to help people in distress.”
“We all are broken and children of God,” McDougal said, adding that sharing a human connection with others in times of trouble is key.