Local

Heaven-sent handymen: Knights of Columbus help with home repairs

Gerry Leonard from Church of the Nativity in Burke works on wooden Christmas lawn ornaments. They and other Knights of Columbus also help needy parishioners with home repairs. Zoey Maraist | Catholic Herald

CROP_LR_handymen-4.jpg

Ever since Ray McDonald had open-heart surgery, he hasn’t been
able to do the things he used to, such as fixing odds and ends around the
house. So when his wife, Rose, saw a note in the bulletin for the Handy Knights
ministry, she gave them a call.  

Since then, Bob Colella, from the Knights at Church of the
Nativity in Burke, has visited them several times, repairing a leaky faucet,
putting in a screen door, even helping Rose with her iPad and Smart TV.

“We were so blessed when Bob came into our lives,” said Rose. “We
call him our ‘Handy Angel.’ ”

Knights at both Nativity and St. Timothy Church in Chantilly
independently started ministries aiding the needy and elderly with minor home
repairs. “No kitchen remodeling,” joked Colella. “Just little things done
around the house.”

Joan Fram needed part of the deck fixed so that her dog wouldn’t
escape as she tended to her 92-year-old homebound father, Jack Casazza. Since
then, the Knights have returned to install storm doors that can be propped open
easily. “It was amazing how much they helped,” said Casazza, who has been a
Nativity parishioner for decades.

The St. Timothy Knights tackled water-damaged, rotting wood in a
bay window. Five or six men spent a Saturday morning taking out the wood,
sealing the space so no more water would come in, then caulking and painting
it. They intend to return soon to work on the damaged interior drywall.

The Knights set aside part of their yearly budget for the
ministry, though Paul Whalen, who helped begin the ministry at St. Timothy, hopes
to focus on projects that require more manpower than funds. The Nativity Handy
Knights accept donations, but do not require any payment.

Though most of the men don’t consider themselves experts, each
has construction or home repair experience. Colella said his years as a U.S.
Air Force pilot gave him quick problem-solving abilities. St. Timothy Grand
Knight Rupert Harmon, a real estate agent, once owned a handyman business. Whalen
has been involved with Habitat for Humanity for many years.

“The need for housing has a special place for me, which is why I
initiated this. The guys have jumped on board,” said Whalen.

Once at a house, they take time to see what else can be fixed.
“We showed up to move some furniture, (because this man) had broken his back on
a bad bicycle fall, and his wife wanted to put her dining room back together
after he no longer needed the hospital bed,” said Colella.

“It took maybe 15 minutes. (Then we saw) she had license plates
sitting there from the DMV, and said, ‘Hey do you want us to put that on? The
front door’s not working right, you want us to fix that?’ ”

Especially with elderly parishioners, the Knights look around to
see if lights are working, if there are fall hazards or places where handrails
should be installed.

Other parish ministries have joined in to make the large
community seem more like an extended family. Last year, the church’s youths
spent a day of Bible camp gardening and cleaning homes where the Handy Knights
had worked.

“You can vote every day for the kind of parish you want to live
in,” said Colella. “So this is just a lot of fun.”

For Whalen, the ministry makes his parish a more familiar place.

“The gratifying part is always when you meet people and connect
with them at some level. Especially when they’re affiliated with their parish,
you notice them from time to time instead of being a face in the crowd,” he
said. “It’s gratifying to use the gifts that we’ve got from God.”

Related Articles