Photo by James A. McBride
St. Simon Stock parishioners, artist Lori Friddell, second from left, and decorator Christine Liss, second from right, stand in their adopted room at the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, with their children who also put their time and effort into making the room comfortable for families: third grader Jacob Liss, fourth grader Josh Liss (both in religious education at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school), third grader Hope Friddell (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel student), and 18-month-old Jonah Liss.
St. Simon Stock, who devoted his life to caring for the sick, would be proud of the work that a recently-merged parish, bearing his namesake, is doing.
In a unity-building effort, parishioners of the new St. Simon Stock Parish in Berlin, the result of a merger between the parishes of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Berlin and St. Edward, Pine Hill, have adopted a room at The Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey in Camden, giving families of seriously ill children a comfortable place to stay.
The Ronald McDonald House is one of more than 284 houses in 31 countries, providing a “home away from home” for families whose children are receiving medical treatment at nearby hospitals, for serious illnesses or traumatic injuries.
The adoption was “something we chose to do with the newly-formed parish, with children, for children,” noted Bea Raiker, director of Religious Education at the parish.
For the next three years, St. Simon Stock Parish will be responsible for the upkeep of the room, which includes four beds, seating, a bureau, table, lap, chairs, private bathroom, and phone with voicemail. There is a mini-kitchen, with refrigerator and microwave, and the room also has a filter that only allows clean air into the room, to aid children who have suppressed immune systems.
Wanting to create a multicultural room because the children from all over the world come to the Ronald McDonald House, the parish decided to decorate the room with a “Dora the Explorer” theme, based on the popular animated children’s program featuring an adventurous 7-year-old bilingual Latina girl. Walls, bed sheets, and other items in the room are adorned with Dora and her friends’ likenesses.
School parents spent three weeks painting and furnishing the room, which is now available for use.
Teddy Thomas, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House of Southern New Jersey, says the room is consistent with the house’s belief that the place on Mickle Boulevard be “a home, not a hotel.”
The room allows the parish to “offer something unique, while providing comfort and support,” he said.
Money collected from car washes, cake sales, and other recent fundraisers were used to finance the room. Over the next three years, religious education students, and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School students will be responsible for upkeep of the room, including the changing of bed linens, maintenance repairs, and any incidentals. Each month, on a rotating basis, each grade will have this responsibility. Upcoming fundraisers will also help pay for the room.
Raiker notes that St. Simon parishioners have taken pride in this work, to provide a comfortable atmosphere for families in troubled times, and the cooperation has united the new community.
“Everyone has been excited by what they’re doing,” she said. “It’s a new project for everyone.”
St. Simon Stock, who lived in England in the 12th and 13th centuries, was dedicated to helping the sick. In 1251, he claimed to have had a vision of the Virgin Mary, who gave him a brown scapular and proclaimed that anyone who wore it “shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the badge of salvation, a shield in time of danger, and a pledge of special peace and protection.”
It is the hope of the parish that the Ronald McDonald House room, just like the scapular, will bring comfort and solace.
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