York Town News
Local teens become Carpenters for Christ, helping those close to home
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Members of York's own "Carpenters for Christ," all parishioners from St. Christopher's Church, gather to prepare for their week-long tour of service to families in need in the Exeter, N.H., area.
Courtesy photo
YORK - They're teenagers.
They love music, hanging out on the beach or by the pool and shopping.
Oh, and they also love helping others and sharing their faith in God.
They are York's own Carpenters for Christ, a group of teens and mentors who are all parishioners at St. Christopher's Catholic Church in York Harbor.
And they spent last week in the Exeter, N.H., area, hammers in hand, helping people improve their homes and renew their hope in the future.
MaryKate Tourigny, 17, said this year marks her fourth trip with Carpenters for Christ to be part of one of the Christian non-denominational sites across North America organized by the Colorado-based Group Workcamps.
"It feels amazing. I love it. Every year it just gets better," she said when she returned to York.
Birdie Loeffler, 16, agreed.
"My residents were the most gracious, kindest people," she said, describing a husband and wife in need of a wheelchair ramp.
MaryKate, Birdie and several other trip participants voiced a sentiment shared year after year by members of Carpenters for Christ: the power of blending faith with a commitment to help others.
"I know that I do these trips because of the interactions and experiences you create with others. I really do enjoy the religious aspects of these camps, but the ones that we participate in are Christian camps, not specifically Catholic ones. I think it's interesting the people that you meet, the people that you are helping and the people you are in your Youth Group with," Birdie said. "You grow so much closer with them during this one week of time. I believe life is about the experiences you have with others."
During the week, the teens used the Exeter Cooperative Middle School as home base with work groups from across the country, heading out "into the field" in Exeter and the surrounding towns to help people in need.
Chuck Andrews, one of the adult volunteers who accompanied the group, said he and the others involved "do it for the spiritual enrichment of the youth. … They get a sense of what giving is all about. You get a much more comfortable feeling about who you are when you give something rather than when you receive something."
The teens agreed.
"This time, it was really nice because my resident was really friendly and she'd come out and talk to us a lot," said 17-year-old Kevin Higgins, who just finished his third trip as a member of Carpenters for Christ. "She was very appreciative of what we were doing. … I think it's a great thing to do. I think anyone would love doing this because the residents appreciate it so much."
Elizabeth Roy, who will turn 16 next month, has watched her father and brothers take part in the event before and joined Carpenters for Christ for the first time this year.
"I was really looking forward to it," she said, "and it was so much better than I expected. It was so much fun. … I'm doing it my next three years of high school."
Several of the participants said it was eye-opening to see how much need there is right in the Seacoast region.
"I've been to Exeter before, and going to New York and West Virginia and seeing some really poor areas, I was wondering what they could possibly need in Exeter," MaryKate said. "I realized there are people who need help everywhere, and I lost all my prejudgments about the town of Exeter."
Birdie had a similar reaction.
"At first, I think we were all a little skeptical," she said. "I think a lot of people didn't realize how much really does need to be done more locally. I think most people kind of just assume because, perhaps, we live comfortably and we have the things that we need, we don't really think that perhaps our neighbors don't have the same good fortune."
The teens also talked about bonding with the members of their youth group and working together for a common cause. Among the dozens of York youth taking part in the trip were three young women from Germany, spending the month with local families through an exchange program.
Two of them, Saskia Ames, 16, and Malena Mester, 15, were on hand to talk about being a part of the work group.
"I think it was a really good experience. I never did anything like this before," Sakia said.
Malena agreed.
"I really didn't know what to expect, but I think it was a cool experience and I got to know a lot of people and they were really nice," she said. "In Germany we don't have stuff like that. It was really great."
And, several of these young carpenters agreed, this is a project that renews faith - something anyone should try.
"It's really for everyone who believes for Jesus," Elizabeth said.
And for Andrews as mentor and for the students who took part, there was only one answer to the question, "Will you do this again in the future?"
That answer was a resounding "Yes."
