“I’ve got at least three ladies that call me whenever they need a ride to get groceries or go to the hospital or post office—there’s many different appointments,” said Tony Pellonpaa, a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist in Ishpeming. “Sometimes I wait if it’s not too long of an appointment, other times it’s a ‘pick up and drop off’ situation.” Pellonpaa is part of a ministry at the Ishpeming parishes that grew out of the homebound communion ministry. It was expanded upon by volunteer coordinator of senior services Angela Johnson to include outreach beyond only communion visits to seniors in need.
One of the women who Pellonpaa regularly drives to appointments is a fellow parishioner named Margaret Bailey. Bailey’s eldest daughter, Holly Boldt, is the only child of hers that lives in the area.
“My mother lives very close to me but I’m working full time,” Boldt said. “There is a bit of a pull where I want to go to every appointment like a hair appointment or a doctor appointment. There’s only so much sick time at work. It becomes too much, to be honest, not because you don’t want to, but because you have parameters you have to adhere to.”
Boldt described her mother as her best friend. “We’re very close. She’s lovely … I think it’s really an adjustment for her to not have the social freedom or run to the store or get together with a friend,” she said. “She’s 91 and I’m 61, and she’s been without driving for six and a half years.”
Boldt said she encountered the ministry after someone at church mentioned it. “I said ‘oh my gosh, what a lovely thing to offer.’ It’s very needed and it’s a very overlooked need, not just likely in this community but all of them,” she said.
Boldt noted there are lots of programs focused on children, but she has not noticed many for seniors. “When you’re on that flip side it seems to kind of dry up unless you’re sick. When you can’t drive it’s such a game changer. Our seniors are often overlooked. I think we just don’t think about it,” she said.
Boldt does still take her mother to certain appointments. “One of my daughters, Kelsey, lives in Negaunee and she’s very good to my mom. She takes her to places too. We’re still taking care of our parents or grandma, and there’s times it needs to be you or should be. For things like hair appointments, though, for example, it’s so helpful. Between me and my daughter we tag team a lot.”
Boldt described Pellonpaa as “the kindest person.” She said, “He is sweet to the core. He is heavily involved. He heads up the adoration schedule, and he’s always there with his wife, Lisa.”
“We didn’t know him super well but there was always a comfortable relationship there,” Boldt said. “Lately Tony’s just kind of become the default one. He took her on … He’s not only very faith filled and active in the church, but he’s so nice to her … It creates a connection in a small community.”
Boldt said she thinks it is good for her mother to on occasion spend time with someone besides her. “It’s a little interaction and connection. It fosters a special relationship that transfers when you go to Mass, and you see people who help you and pick you up. You feel closer to people … They’re not just someone you see and smile at, you have that true connection,” she said. “That strengthens the parish family. You feel closer. I think it’s good for her to have people other than me, and I think that offers relief for worry about juggling schedules for both her and me. The timing couldn’t have been better for our family, and it’s a fairly new ministry. It came up right when we needed it, it was a prayer answered.”
Seeing this ministry at work has deepened Boldt’s faith. “It was a need I was worrying about and then there it was. It very much deepened my faith seeing that there are people in our parish, our Catholic community that thought of that and saw the need and put it in place and being that point person, like Angela [Johnson].” She said that knowing one was part of a faith community where someone saw the need and created a whole ministry out of it has allowed for a deeper level of connection with fellow parishioners. “It makes you feel like ‘I’m in the right place.’ It feels like home,” she said.
Boldt said that even if there’s just a smile and a nod to each other in the adoration chapel, Pellonpaa is always friendly. “It’s at a deeper level. You’re not only sharing the faith, but there’s also this whole other layer to it,” she said. “It’s great. It makes you feel closer. There’s more of a connection. The nod and smile may look the same but it’s deeper than that. Tony’s become very important to us. I both like and very much trust him with my mom to be gentle and to guide her. He’ll walk her into the hair salon, be there 10 minutes earlier, or ask if she wants a cheeseburger after appointments. It’s just special.”
Boldt said, “I’m looking to retire. In my retirement, you think what you might like to offer up with your time. Down the road, I hope that I will be able to give back. There have been other people who have stepped up. I hope maybe it would open [this ministry] up to places where it’s not going on.”
Pellonpaa used to teach fourth grade faith formation at St. John the Evangelist and said that he got to know Johnson through that. “Through that friendship, she stayed in touch with me and was giving me jobs. That’s how I got this one.” Pellonpaa said that he has been assisting in the ministry for about six or seven years and has known Boldt and Bailey for about 10 years, as they all go to the same church.
Pellonpaa said, “I enjoy doing this. I’m pretty much a joker with them,” he said of the seniors he drives to appointments. “I’ll pick them up and say something like ‘Where are we going today, Chicago?’ I like to see smiles on their faces.”
Pellonpaa said that he thinks transporting those in need has impacted his faith. “It’s nice knowing that I’m doing something good, for all the good that was given to me in my lifetime. It’s like giving back,” he said. “It’s enjoyable to pick [the seniors] up and spend time with them. I would just like to put a plug in for Angela—she does so much for the elderly. I’d like to recommend her.”
Johnson said, “I have heard from my volunteers that they have grown spiritually and find that their days of retirement spent in this way are extremely meaningful. They appreciate the opportunity this ministry affords to be helpful to others and that it helps them to count their blessings knowing that they will one day likely be in need as well.”