Each fall for more than a decade, members of the All-Saints Episcopal Parish have worked with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to rake All Saints’ leaves and clean up their landscaping. The service project has become a regular part of seasonal change for both congregations, neighbors on route 2. In summer 2010, Mrs. Heather Crawford was driving down Mt. Harmony Rd., contemplating possible service projects for her congregation’s youth group. “I saw a little white church with a cemetery. We were in charge of coming up with the October [activity], and I thought it could be fun to do something with a cemetery, and cleaning up a cemetery. A little while later I popped in at our neighbor church on the corner of 2 and 4 and happened to arrive when the person in charge happened to be there and discussed with her the idea.” Crawford comments on the providential nature of the encounter, working out the way it did. “She said they’d be willing.”
The event was a valuable success, though all quickly realized it would benefit from a larger workforce. Soon both congregations – not just the youth – got involved. Crawford continued, “It was a wonderful experience. We loved working with them, and continue to do so.” What began as a Halloween activity transitioned to December because autumn doesn’t truly hit Maryland in October.
The All Saints Parish has a long history since its beginning in 1692, and has experienced various stages of growth and change. While the congregation had enough people to complete a church yard clean-up fifty years ago, the small size and aging population make such an endeavor difficult, shares Mrs. Penny Dorsey, a member of the All Saints congregation: “We don’t have enough people to do it.” The Latter-day Saint congregation, which has split into two congregations since 2010, has more young people than the All-Saints congregation, which enables them to be of great aid in performing the necessary manual labor. The Cub and Boy Scouts have also been involved in some years.
I have fond memories of getting up early on cold Saturday mornings to go rake leaves at the All Saints Parish, even as a five or six-year-old. My family and I would label our rakes with our name in case they were lost, don coats and gloves, and get to it. The leaves were tarped to a forested area and created an incredibly massive leaf pile, which was of great interest to our young selves. I remember climbing up hills that had eroded, nearly creating small cliffs, and hanging onto the roots that protruded from the hills. This was all made significantly larger and grander by my tiny size. I remember walking through a “forest” – some trees – and finding what a friend and I considered historical treasures – some glass bottles and assorted rubbish. Though we’d have roughly a hundred people, the All Saints Parish’s grounds are rather large, so the project would take the entire morning. We’d be tired by the end, but the All Saints members often prepared lunch while we raked, and we’d spend a cheerful hour in the warm, heated building with hot dogs and hot chocolate. We enjoyed serving with our friends and people from our community.
Since the first event in 2010, the congregations have continued to partner on a number of other projects, including during the Day2Serve in October, when various community groups worked together to package 300,288 meals for those in need in southern Maryland. The All Saints congregation has supported Red Cross blood drives held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jointly-held family history classes have also garnered success.
These projects, including the annual leaf rake, blood drives, and Day2Serve, are made available to the public on justserve.org, where thousands of local community groups all over the world provide service opportunities. Projects exist in a variety of forms, with options for remote and in-person service, small-scale and large groups, older folks and for small children. JustServe is focused on connecting volunteers with worthwhile organizations.
Local seventeen-year-old Sam Wilks has participated in the annual leaf raking event since he moved to Calvert County ten years ago. He said, “There were a lot of leaves, but everyone was working together and there were a lot of tarps, which helped. We moved a lot of leaves, which was fun. A lot of people came and they helped and it was good.” Sam enjoyed his experience. “It was a lot of fun and I got to know people, which was awesome. And the food afterwards was the best part. They appreciate us coming and moving the leaves.”
That’s the scope of the event, people just come help move the leaves. By itself, that’s nothing grand or incredibly consequential. It’s the relationships that have been built, the experiences that have come, and the sense of community that has been gained, through something as simple as raking leaves, that really amounts to something.
