Volunteers Give Bethlehem House a Spring Cleaning

On a crisp Saturday in March, the DC and Montgomery County regions held their annual renovation project, this year at Bethlehem House in Riverdale, MD. Bethlehem House is a Christian facility caring for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The home is located on a residential street and looks and runs as a large, loving family. We had 20 ready, willing and able volunteers—knights, dames, plus friends and family members. 

The day started with a prayer led by Sister Dee, the founder and director of Bethlehem House. We were divided into groups by our renovation leader, Tim Demaree, KM, and assigned tasks to accomplish a variety of chores and projects that Sister Dee had been saving up, hoping for volunteers like us. These included replacing a screen door; installing light fixtures, a closet system, and door stops; building shelving units; making a picket fence gate; repairing a dryer vent; plus general yard clean-up that extended to spreading gravel under the deck, organizing a shed, and cleaning BBQ grills. It was an extra special spring cleaning day that ended with taking all the trash to the dump.

This was an especially gratifying and uplifting effort, as Sister Dee, her staff, and the Bethlehem House residents worked alongside us all day, joined us for lunch, and went overboard with gratitude—providing a clear sense of the Lord’s presence in prayer, fellowship, and community.  And as is always the case with projects like this, the volunteers are enriched as much as the recipients, and we see the Order at its best.