This is Part 6 of a 7-part series featuring Pikes Peak Habitat Interfaith Build for Unity subcommittee members, who discuss their faith community’s involvement in creating an interfaith unity bench for 3rd IBU homeowner Jessica.
Barb Treacy from St. Francis of Assisi Parish shared with us her church’s contributions to the Unity Bench.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish has been a strong supporter of Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity since 2006. We are always looking for ways to participate with Pikes Peak Habitat to help our community.
Everyone I approached to ask if they wanted to help was eager to do so. The timing of the project was perfect, since many of us are looking for a project that can be done inside, rather than building onsite during the winter. It also allowed the children in our religious education program to participate with their “personal” artwork.
We decorated three boards. The one with the small figure of St. Francis of Assisi was done by the men of the Knights of Columbus (a Catholic men’s club that’s dedicated to helping their community). Another (small) board was decorated by the granddaughter of our church’s liaison to Pikes Peak Habitat (Bernie Redlinger). The third, and largest, board was decorated by the children in our religious education classes. They were very excited to be a part of this project. Some of them are too young to write messages, and because it was done around Christmastime, you may notice a Santa or Christmas tree!
The best projects are the ones in which people work together, and this one did exactly that. In a world that seems more divided than ever, Pikes Peak Habitat continues to bring people together, reminding us that we have more in common than the nightly news wants us to believe!
Read more about the IBU bench from Pikes Peak Habitat’s spring print newsletter! You can also read part 1 of this series, an interview with Jeff Mawhirter of Christ City Church; part 2, an interview with Jeff Ader of Temple Beit Torah; part 3, an interview with Kymm Hockman from First United Methodist Church Prairie Campus; part 4, an interview with Stephanie Sparks from Grace & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church; and part 5, an interview with Feda Jodeh from the Islamic Society of Colorado Springs.
