Her smile speaks volumes.
When members of the clergy and parishioners at Holy Family Parish in Sydney Mines drop by the church office on MacKay Street for a visit they are met with a warm hello and a friendly smile from church secretary Lorena Capstick.
As a woman of faith, Capstick says her job with the church helps fulfil her need to be of assistance to others.
“I have a desire to help people. I have been a volunteer with a number of organizations that do good for the community like the Kinettes, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and various other smaller community groups. I have also been involved with Christopher Leadership, Children's Wish and the Cursillo Movement.
“When my children were younger I volunteered a lot. Sports teams and other school activities or fundraisers gave me plenty of opportunities to help out. I feel like the work I did back then has come full circle as my job now includes a lot of what I did then.
“While ordering supplies, paying bills, working with finance, scheduling, etc., are big parts of my work, what is most important to me is interacting with volunteers and people in the community and hearing what matters to them.”
When asked what it is about her job that brings her the most joy, Capstick said one of the most important things is that the job has purpose.
“In the parish, I see my role as helping wherever I am needed. While a good portion of my time is spent in the parish office, I do just about anything I am asked. I believe everything and everyone has a purpose.
“We have some very dedicated people in our church community who make sure that every task — from taking bulletins to people in the hospital to making lunches or singing in the choir for funerals — is taken care of. I was so pleased when I started working at the church in 2014 to see how everyone comes together to support the entire church community.”
When she is not spending time helping others, the mother of two likes to travel.
“I enjoy travel, I love to experience different places. Although I get travel sick, more than anyone I know, it makes it more of an adventure. My favourite part of travel is learning, you are on an overload of senses and it fills me with life. When it is time to head home, I am left with a feeling that I want to grow or expand in my own life and surroundings. Basically, to be a better human, to live life and enjoy and appreciate it.”
As a woman of faith, Capstick says her job with the church helps fulfil her need to be of assistance to others.
The pandemic has been hard on everyone and being isolated from others can affect even those with the strongest of constitutions. Capstick says there are times when she herself has neglected to lean on her faith to get her through the difficult times.
“COVID-19 has taken so much interaction away from daily life, especially in the beginning. Our diocese has a monthly publication and I was asked how I was keeping my own faith life connected. My response was, 'sometimes, I forget to ask God for help.'
“At times I feel like I am lost and alone in the ocean. I just float, I don't feel like swimming or treading water. I can't see the shoreline to know what direction to go ... During those times I like to connect with other people of faith online where I find support and encouragement. I realize that there are people going though and feeling what I am feeling. I think wow, there are others floating right there alongside me. It is comforting.”
Capstick said in life there are two directions. She said we can look upward and ask God for guidance and look in front to see the people God has placed in our path to help lead us.
Formerly of Sydney, Capstick has lived in Florence for most of her adult life. She said she is happy and feels as though she is living a blessed life.
“I am married to my high school sweetheart Pat. I have wonderful children, a daughter Joan-Catherine and a son MJ and daughter-in-law Corrinne. I live in a community that I love and am privileged to work in a career that fills my soul. Life is truly wonderful.”
Sherry Mulley MacDonald is an author and freelance journalist. She is a lifelong resident of the Northside with an affection for the community in which she lives.
