Brian and Martha Harvey are taking over St. Pius X Parish’s Meals on Wheels ministry from longtime leaders Dolores and Stu Ahrens. Under their care, more than 60 volunteers are the hands and feet of Jesus, delivering hot meals to Greensboro-area homebound seniors and disabled adults. (Georgianna Penn | Catholic News Herald)GREENSBORO — After decades of making sure hot, nutritious meals were delivered to neighbors in need, the leaders of the St. Pius X Meals on Wheels team have passed their responsibilities – and blessings – to another couple.
“For more than 20 years, Dolores and Stu Ahrens have let their light shine,” Martha Harvey notes in a recent tribute to the couple who coordinated the MOW volunteers each month.
“On Dec. 6, 2021, a parade of cars lined up outside Senior Resources of Guilford to load their vehicles with hot meals for delivery to homebound seniors and disabled adults, as they have regularly done on the first Monday of each month,” she says. “On that day, the drivers and passengers from St. Pius X lingered for a few extra moments to express their love and gratitude to their retiring ministry leaders, Dolores and Stu Ahrens.”
MOW’s more than 60 volunteers (40 regular and 20 substitutes) “know that the opportunity to engage in conversation with these neighbors is oftentimes equally as important as the meal they deliver,” she says. “The pandemic presented its challenges to the ministry, but under the Ahrenses’ guidance, volunteers continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus at a time when it is needed most.”
Stewardship is always possible, says Delores Ahrens. “Giving of oneself to do good for others makes you a better person. It can make you humble, make you feel grateful and make you feel needed.”
Stu Ahrens agrees. “Being associated with the St. Pius X Meals on Wheels Ministry for many years has been a true blessing for both of us. Like any ministry, you always receive more than you give.”
For over two decades, the Ahrenses and the St. Pius X MOW ministry team have been the face of Christ for more than 300 clients along 20 routes throughout Greensboro. Sometimes, these volunteers are the only human contact the clients have all day long. On two occasions, delivering a meal has even helped save a life, the Ahrenses note. Both times, they found a client in need of immediate medical assistance, called 911, then stayed until help arrived.
Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, Stu Ahrens accepted a teaching position at North Carolina A&T University in 1970, and the two began their life together in Greensboro. Upon arriving in Greensboro, Delores Ahrens started out as a “Playroom Lady” in the pediatric ward at Moses Cone Hospital in the 1970s. “Then I became a ‘Lap Mother,’” she says. “I’d hold and feed the babies who were in the hospital for HIV so their mothers could go home to shower and change clothes.”
After the adoption of their son, John Martin – named for Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy – the couple began fostering newborns between the time of their birth to about 6 months, when the adoptive parents would receive them. They later fostered an older teen who is now like part of their family.
“Dolores and Stu are the embodiment of the spirit of stewardship,” say Martha and Brian Harvey, who will be taking over for the Ahrenses. “Their dedication and commitment to the Meals on Wheels ministry has touched so many lives (meal recipients and volunteers alike) with love, joy, patience, kindness and generosity.
As they retire and pass the torch of this important ministry to us, we are humbled and grateful for their friendship, support, and for their example.”
Parishioner Patricia Gillispie has been delivering meals with her husband Rick for more than six years. She considers the ministry a “perfect extension” for the Harveys after their years of experience with Greensboro Urban Ministry’s Potter’s House. “Stu and Delores did such a wonderful job with the St. Pius X (MOW) ministry,” she says. “I know Brian and Martha will do the same.”
— Georgianna Penn, Correspondent. Martha Harvey contributed.