BASE Camp 2010 Day Five - Humble Work

"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do humble work." ~ Mother Teresa

Thankfully due to the great volume of work performed over the previous three days we had a light workload on Thursday. Thankfully, because as temperatures climbed near 100 it was clear working in that heat at the height of the afternoon would have been miserable. So, following lunch we headed back to our home base.

The morning was not without it's share of work, however. We had a crew finish the clearing and trimming of the lot on Pratt Street, even moving more debris out of the way creating more cleared green space. Part of the crew roamed the neighborhood collecting copious amounts of trash, and then we finished our work on that part of Pratt Street by weeding the property where two of the nuns connected to Hezekiah Movement live. While working the lot we had a visit from Taz, who spoke with our young people during last year's BASE Camp about the difference Hezekiah had made in his life. He was taking a group of people to Bible study, but took the time to stop and say "hello" and tell us again how much everyone in Southwest appreciates our work.

Last night one of our BASE Camp alumni - Kate Cohagan - brought us a large donation of bread items from Atwater's in Catonsville. We delivered the bread to the community service center, where Dienna was thrilled to receive ANY donation, and ecstatic when she found it was about four dozen loaves. Dienna - who has known Sr. Kitty for 27 years since she was a 13 year old religious education student - explained that with the impending brutally hot weather many of the community's poor elderly would not venture out to try and get food. She was hopeful that she'd be able to distribute the bread along with peanut butter and canned fruit to tide those folks over.

Our crew finished the morning at St. Peter's, helping with a variety of tasks including staking up some "discovered" tomato plants and planting new flowers in some of the flower boxes. During lunch we were joined by Michael, another Hezekiah Movement success story. Michael talked of his own struggles with addiction and how Hezekiah had changed his life. He told the young people they should always remember that "God shows us a lot of love, even when we aren't deserving." Michael said he was hopeful he'd be able to give back to the community by woking at St. Peter's Center.

After lunch we headed back to St. Will's, where a large group of our young people assisted Fr. Marty in moving his office to his new parish. He greatly appreciated the help of the youth and their willingness to jump right into the task regardless of the weather. And, he treated them to a tour of his new parish.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Southwest with BASE Camp, and while there's a great sense of accomplishment there is also a sense of sadness. Our group grows very close during these experiences and creates bonds and memories that will last a lifetime. More and more we have been affirmed in our "humble work" by the community. As I returned the keys to the garage where we have been storing our tools this week to Brother Joe he said how sorry he would be to see us move on, but also how transforming our presence this week has been. I can guarantee that this has been a transforming experience not just for the Southwest community, but for our BASE Camp 2010 participants as well.

BASE Camp 2010 Day Three - Small Things

"It is not what we do that is important, but how much love we put into what we do: we should do small things with great love."
~ Mother Teresa

Small things with great love. Again and again today we were told that these seemingly small things we do when we venture into Southwest Baltimore demonstrate great love. And, as Brother Joe told me today, "your young people have truly transformed our community."

It was a busy day today with multiple crews going in varying directions. We did everything from street cleanup to setting up for a retirement party to moving furniture. Along the way we talked with a great many people, many who shared with us the joy they felt we had brought to their community. One young man - who goes by the name "Pig" - kept circling around us on his bicycle. Every time he came close and we tried to strike up a conversation with him he'd turn and ride away. But within a few short moments he would return, each time venturing closer. Finally he dismounted the bike and - still not really conversing - picked up a rake and began helping with the work. He helped us finish the work on that street and then rode off again. But little moments like that, where we have the opportunity to make even the smallest connection with someone are true gifts.

During lunch our group was visited by Laurie, who shared with us her struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and how organizations like Hezekiah Movement helps keep her clean and productive. She talked with joy about her three children, the middle one planning on entering college this fall. Her journey into addiction began at the age of 13 as a result of peer pressure and it's been a 27 year battle for her, But there was much joy and hope in how she views her life today and her continuing recovery. Our young people strongly affirmed her path and promised to pray for her.

One of our crews worked on a prayer garden behind the newly opened "Island of Hope" building. If you're familiar with the television program "The Wire" which infamously chronicles the drug wars in Baltimore or "Homicide: Life on the Street" you may also know that the Baltimore writer whose works these are based on - David Simon - also co-wrote the book "The Corner" about Baltimore's most notorious drug trafficking location. Island of Hope is located on this corner. It is indeed an island of hope for the community - a place where people of the community can join together to pray, to meditate and to find healing. The prayer garden itself was one of the first lot cleanups we did back in 2005 (before BASE Camp was BASE Camp). It's incredible to see what the small seed planted five years ago has grown into. That crew was supervised by Jerry Buettner - a fellow youth minister, good friend, and social justice shining light. Jerry calls Baltimore "Smalltimore" because of it's neighborhood character. And it seems everyone knows Jerry - again and again I encounter people that have somehow had their lives touched by Jerry. Our young people had a great day working with him.

We made new friends on the basketball courts of the Hollins Market community and unfortunately had to say good-bye to one old one... Sr. Kitty. Sr. Kitty had to travel to a national conference of Mercy Sisters in Charlotte, North Carolina and won't be able to be with us for the remainder of the week. This pained her greatly because she loves spending time with our young people. But she also left town confident in the knowledge that our young people would perform the work spectacularly, infusing each small act with great love. We won't let her down.

BASE Camp 2010 Day Two - Presence

Our first on-site day of BASE Camp went very well despite ridiculously hot temperatures throughout the day. The young people worked, and sweated, and worked and sweated some more. But they never backed off on the work, despite a dead animal removal to start the day to spreading bag after bag of mulch in the hot afternoon sun. Attitude was great and we accomplished more than we were expected to.

At lunch we talked with Sr. Kitty about the history of this area of Baltimore as well as her own time here. She spoke of coming to the community in 1978, and despite a planned retirement spent in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, she has continued her work against all the odds - a spiraling economy, issues with the city, her own battle with cancer - in her current and always home. Sr. Kitty talked frankly of "getting down" when she first found out she'd need to continue with her chemotherapy, but how she concluded that she wasn't going to let it get in her way, she wasn't going to allow it to slow her down, all because she still has much ministry to do in her beloved Hollins Market community. One of the Hezekiah Movement volunteers spoke with our group about the "broken, battered down and wounded" nature of the community. But he also strongly reminded our youth that they "give people hope" and lift people's hearts in the community by showing we care. A group of us were able to visit the site of one of our first community cleanups back in 2005 and see how the space has been turned into a lovely prayer and meditation garden. And how we'll have a hand in finishing it off in the days ahead.

The evening was filled with prayer and laughter and visits from old friends and new. The BASE Camp faithful met the new pastor for our soon-to-be-joined relationship with St. Agnes parish, Fr. Michael DeAscanis. Fr. Michael appeared impressed with the size of our group as well as our focus on the teachings of Mother Teresa this week. We shared with him a little about our work in the Southwest Baltimore community as well as our relationship with Sr. Kitty.

We spoke much of presence today. Not just our being present to the Southwest Baltimore community, but being present to one another in our own woundedness. And understanding that like the mustard seed of scripture we can grow big things from the smallest of seeds. We have the opportunity to make great change with the smallest of acts.

BASE Camp 2009 - Reflection

This past week our young people participated in our annual BASE Camp experience. When Kate Kleintank and myself first starting forming plans for a joint project for youth from St. Mark and St. William of York parish I don't think we quite envisioned what BASE Camp has become. Originally it was to be a workcamp, an opportunity for a group of young people from the two parishes to come together and get to know each other better while putting their faith into action through community service. Certainly a laudable goal in and of itself. However, BASE Camp has evolved into something much more than that, with much of the credit going to Mercy Sr. Katherine Nueslein, or "Sr. Kitty" as we affectionately call her. And that transition began when we stopped calling this a "workcamp" and began calling it BASE Camp, the letters "B," "A," "S" and "E" standing for Baltimore - Act, Serve, Evangelize.

Through many conversations between Sr. Kitty and myself and trying new things we've come to the conclusion that as important as the work is, it is just as important (if not more so) for our young people to experience something that goes well beyond doing a "good deed for the day." We want our young people to feel the pulse of the city, to form relationships with its residents, to hear their stories and understand that reaching out and helping is much more than cutting grass or cleaning up trash. We want our young people to see that there is much healing that needs to happen in our city, and that they have the power to make that healing happen as disciples of Christ. Today, BASE Camp is less about the service and more about the EXPERIENCE. It's about putting your faith into action not just in a physical way but in a way that encourages advocacy for peace and justice. And through that advocacy we can be healers.


Each day of our BASE Camp experience featured a different theme. Day One was "Solidarity," and we prayed on that theme throughout the day as we discovered what it truly means to stand in solidarity with our less fortunate sisters and brothers. The theme of Day Two was "Care of God's Creation," and much of our time was spent working on a park that serves as a small oasis of peace in one of Baltimore's poorest neighborhoods. Day Three was "Witness," and we witnessed to our faith through our actions, and were amazed and gratified by the large number of people that pitched in to help or merely stopped by to say 'Thank You' for all we were doing to try and restore pride in community in the southwest district. Our Day Four theme was "Discipleship," and we heard profound testimony all week of what it means to be a disciple from the clients at Hezekiah House, who told us that through the darkest hours of our lives we had to continue to seek God's light. And we heard from the residents of Jonah House, who explored with us the pervasive and suffocating violence that permeates our world. And finally, our Day Five theme was "Go Forth," with the idea being that our last day of BASE Camp is not an ending but a continuation of what it means to go forth and shout to all nations the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Each day of our BASE Camp experience our youth prayed together in our Mary garden before we left for the worksite, and in the evening assessed each day with reflection, prayer, meditation and the writing of our prayer intentions on our BASE Camp prayer cloth. And our prayer intentions went well beyond just praying for the people of Baltimore and those we met through our work. We prayed for the grandmother of one of our youth that passed away this past week. For the mother of another participant that was hospitalized during our week. For Vincent Woodward from Resurrection parish in Ellicott City - where Kate Kleintank now works - who was tragically killed in an automobile accident. For our families that were missing us and for our friends and acquaintances in pain and suffering. For Sr. Kitty and each person we met during BASE Camp. And of course, for one another. For strength, for safety, for continued blessings on the work of our hands and for peace and justice to come to the city of Baltimore, and throughout the world.


It was particularly gratifying for me to see not only the way our young people work and reach out to southwest Baltimore, but to see how they reach out and support and comfort one another. Our new participants were welcomed with open arms and quickly became part of our BASE Camp family. And a group of our older participants stepped into the role of "Young Adult Leader" with maturity and grace.

In many readings from the Gospels the theme is healing. Christ demonstrated to his disciples the power of healing and that all who believe in him will be healed. This week at BASE Camp, despite a different theme each day, it was all about one thing - healing. We healed through our work and we healed through our prayers. We healed by being the answer to someone else's prayer… the person too sick to clean up their own property; the person caught up in addiction; the poor and the hungry and those just struggling each day to get by. And of course, the prayers of each other. Solidarity, care, witness, discipleship and mission. They all add up to one thing: healing. Jesus said "…as you have believed, let it be done for you." (Matthew 8:13) Our young people are believers, our young people are disciples. Our young people stand ready to go forth and be healers in our world.

BASE Camp - Day Five+

Oh, the best-laid plans of mice and men...

Day Five+ of our 2009 BASE Camp experience began with a bang - literally. As we arrived to drop off a crew at the community service center we heard a loud 'BANG' followed by a slow hiss... Sr. Kitty had a flat. She seemed completely unperturbed, however. "Oh, this happens all the time" was her response. Despite the seeming setback our ever-enthusiastic BASE Camp crew eagerly took on the task of changing the tire (even though none of them had any experience in this area). Although it looked like the beginnings of a bad joke ("How many BASE Camp participants does it take to change a flat tire?") they met their first challenge of the day head-on and with success.

Our large project for this last day of BASE Camp was at the Traci Atkins Park. Traci Atkins was a young girl who was killed when she was hit by a truck as she played in the water of an opened fire hydrant on a hot summer day. The park was created as a place for children to be able to play safely without the worry of traffic. Our task was to dig a relief trench for water that was backing up onto the wading pool deck. Even though it was hot, sweaty work our team dove in (no pun intended) and dug the trench, using the dirt they removed to fill in other holes around the park property. The team also cleaned up trash around the park, and even managed to find some time to play basketball with some young people from the neighborhood. It was a great project on all kinds of levels for our BASE Camp participants - not just for the opportunity to make the park a little nicer for the youngsters that visit there, but also to spend time building relationships with their peers in the neighborhood.

We made a financial donation to the Hezekiah Movement, and there were food donations to sort in the morning as well. Much from one of our St. William of York parishioners, and also food from BASE Camp that we knew we would not need. The crew divided the food donations into bags to be presented to needy families in the area. Another crew spent part of the day cleaning out a storage garage at the community service center, and we ended our time with a group walk to Hollins Market where we sampled a wide variety of treats.

We had a final assessment with Sr. Kitty and focused on our theme for the day, "Go Forth." The youth talked much of their experiences of the past week, and also talked of their dreams for continuing the work we've done. It was particularly gratifying for me to hear how profoundly our young people experienced their faith in action over the last few days.

It's nearly 11pm and a group of about a dozen of the youth have gone over to the church to pray and write prayer intentions on our BASE Camp prayer cloth. Tomorrow is our cleanup day at St. Will's. I know it will be a day of tears and sad farewells. But the 2009 BASE Camp crew is ready to "Go Forth!"

BASE Camp - Day Three+

Day Three+ of our BASE Camp experience is winding down and if nothing else I can honestly say I saw mountains moved today. Our theme for the day was "Witness," and our young people were very visible witnesses to God's presence in Southwest Baltimore.

For the past few years there is a rather large property at the corners of Pratt and Mount Streets that our group has been working on. The property is owned by Southwest Visions, one of the many organizations that Sr. Kitty is associated with. The intent when the property was originally purchased was to one day build housing for low-income families. But changes in the economy - at both the national and neighborhood level - thwarted those plans. The property sits in the shadows of a former Catholic parish, Fourteen Holy Martyrs. The building now houses a Baptist Church and Dismas House, the objective of which "is to aid residents in making a smooth transition from the penal system, or to act as an alternative to incarceration for those serving sentences of three years or less."

Since we have been working the property for a number of years (primarily to keep it in compliance with city regulations) our group has taken a real sense of ownership and pride in the work that we've done there. As we drove by on Monday morning it was evident that the property was in serious need of attention. Our group wasn't disheartened by what they saw - the saw it merely as a challenge, and one they were prepared to take on.

It took the better part of two days, but the work our young people did was extraordinary. Not only did they cut the very high and thick grass, they removed dozens of bags of trash and debris, moved huge mounds of vines, clippings and branches, weeded, swept and sweated buckets, all the while maintaining their good humor and enthusiasm. Throughout the day people stopped by the tell our youth how much they appreciated what was being done, and how impressed they were that this group of young people gave of their time and talents to make this part of Baltimore a better place for it's residents.

During our lunch break we heard from Stefan, a success story from Hezekiah Movement, yet another of Sr. Kitty's connections. Stefan spoke of his coming to America from his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, and how he fell into a pattern of substance abuse and the darkness that enveloped his life. His rollercoaster ride through recovery and drug-taking came to a screeching halt when his 7 year old daughter - just two days in the United States - was murdered in front of him. It was a heart-rending story, but one of hope and trust in God. Stefan spoke proudly of his three years of being clean, and his efforts now to help others in recovery.

Each evening we have an assessment of the day and prayer, and each time we gather the youth speak of the wonderful experiences they're having. Most of all they have learned that Baltimore is much more than the Orioles and the Ravens; much more than Harborplace and Little Italy; much more than drugs and guns and violence. It is a city of people like them, people just trying to make it through each day. People that are warm and friendly and appreciate the efforts of our young people. People that need a little help to see the light of Christ in the world. People that have their hearts touched by the amazing witness of BASE Camp 2009.

BASE Camp - Day One+

We've just finished prayer to close out Day One+ of our 2009 BASE Camp experience. The "+" because we really started yesterday with Mass, orientation, and some time getting to know one another. But today was our first on-site day. The exciting thing for me was to hear how the "newbs" were touched by today's many happenings in such a positive way, despite a somewhat ominous start (a drug bust in progress on Monroe Street as we were driving down at 8:45am).

It was great as always to see Sr. Kitty and to see her excitement at having a large group of BASE Camp young people to be at her service throughout this week. I know this sort of thing energizes her a great deal and I know it gives her hope for the future - a future where understanding will help to break down the barriers that separate people from one another.

There were a number of interesting moments today, but one struck me especially as the epitome of how small gestures can reap great rewards. Early in the day as we were preparing to move off in different directions we were scrambling a bit with deciding which tools to send where because we had a tool shortage. The shortage being that all of Sr. Kitty's tools had recently been stolen out of her back yard. But we worked it out and divided up our groups and began the work. At the Poppleton St. site where we had groups weeding and picking up trash I noticed a pile of trash laying in the middle of one of the alleys. As I walked closer I could see that this small pile of trash was the end of a trail that ran behind a house where there were literally hundreds of books, papers, articles of clothing and a wide variety of "knick-knacks" strewn about. When I reached the pile in the middle of the alley I realized that laying there amongst the trash were about a dozen bottles of prescription medications. Since there were small children about I immediately called over two of our young people - Megan and Joey - and asked them to clean up the trash in the street and especially dispose of the medications.

A few minutes later I was approached by a man - Tom - who asked me if I had seen who dumped the trash. He was very upset because he owned the house where all this trash was. As Tom later surmised, he had renters that had left recently and their idea of cleaning out the house was to dump everything out the back windows and into the yard. He left, and when I related the story to our youth they immediately took it upon themselves to clean up the man's yard. It took a while, and yielded about a dozen large bags of trash. When Tom returned a few hours later he was blown away that we had done the work. He tried to give me money, to buy the youth "pizzas or something." When I refused it he asked if he could make some kind of donation. I suggested he walk down the street to the Hezekiah House (a substance abuse rehabilitation center and our base of operations) a make a donation there, which he promptly did. When he returned he again thanked us and was getting ready to load all the trash in his truck when our youth again pitched in and loaded it for him. He came to me again and asked if he could buy us something - maybe tools. I told him about Sr. Kitty and how all her tools were recently stolen. At that moment she came out the front door of her house. Tom rushed across the street and offered to replace her stolen tools.

Answered prayers. In his homily Sunday morning Fr. Marty Demek talked of how this week these young people were going to be the answer to someone's prayers. And we saw it today, a ripple effect that began with picking up some prescription drugs in the middle of the street. Perhaps a mother whose prayer was her child never get started in the drug trade had her prayer answered when we removed that temptation from the middle of the alley. And perhaps Tom's prayer was answered for a relief from the stress and anxiety he was feeling because of what happened to his property. And perhaps Sr. Kitty's prayers to have her tools replaced was also answered.

Ripples... answered prayers... we all have the opportunity to be someone's answer to prayer. I saw it tangibly today, at BASE Camp - Day One+.