'We need more homes.' Bishop blesses Habitat home built in Canton by Catholic volunteers

CANTON − Not everyone can say their house is blessed. Truly blessed.

But the Mathis and Dykes family can.

Catholic Diocese of Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar visited their new home at 535 14th St. SE on Thursday, offering a prayer and blessing it with holy water.

The house is no ordinary home. It was sponsored and built through Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio with help from a "Catholic Community Build" made up of parishioners from St. Michael the Archangel in Plain Township, St. Paul in North Canton, Holy Spirit in Lake Township, and St. Francis of Assisi in Canton.

Ronnie Dykes and Ashya Mathis and their sons Josiah, 14, Jay'On, 12, and Jaiaire, 11, will take possession of the property on Dec. 15.

"We worked hard. I want to thank you that I can raise my kids in a home," said Ronnie Dykes, whose partner said he sometimes went straight to the building site after working a midnight shift. "I don't have to rent anymore and make someone else rich."

In addition to a down payment, Habitat families are required to contribute "sweat equity" in the construction of their homes.

"Thank you blessing my family with this beautiful home," Aysha Mathis said. "I appreciate the wonderful hard work and response from the Catholic community. I appreciate every one of you. You didn't have to volunteer your time, but you did."

Beth Lechner, CEO of Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio, said the new home is more than a structure.

"It's a testament to what faith in action can truly achieve," she said. "We have witnessed the spirit of service come alive through every volunteer, and the joy of fellowship in every hammer swing. This dedication is a celebration of that spirit and the bright future it ensures for the Mathis family."

Bishop David Bonnar blesses house with holy water

It marks the first time that a bishop from the Youngstown diocese has dedicated a local Habitat home. Bonnar prayed and blessed the house with holy water. The event took place in the home's basement due to ongoing street construction behind the house.

"It's so fitting that we have this service on this concrete, on this ground because it speaks of a foundation," the bishop said. "But it can't compare with the foundation that's in your hearts. As a family and the work that is before you to build, not just a house which you've done so beautifully with so many other hands, but to build a home. And God knows we need more homes in our world today."

Bonnar lauded everyone for their effort in helping the family, and joked that he felt a little like St. Peter as he handed them their keys.

"I think what makes this day so special is the realization of a dream," he said. "Just realizing their dream and how excited we are to share the realization of that dream. I stand at many intersections in my ministry as a bishop and not all of those intersections are easy. But this is one that I will never ever forget. This is one of the greatest joys I've had of being a bishop."

The Catholic Community Build had been in the planning stages since last year, said Lechner, who added that she was grateful for the spirit of collaboration by the parishes.

"A lot was going on that time, where things were shifting," she said. "The Catholic church really actually does a very good job of doing that and trying to figure that out and keep people together. They were talking about 'How can we do something together that keeps us together?'"

Lechner noted that it costs $50,000 to sponsor a new Habitat home.

"They know that it takes all of that to build a Habitat house, and everybody in that room was willing to give what they had," she said. "I cannot thank the parishes and the Catholic community enough. They are indeed strong and they are indeed good people who showed up and gave."

Steve Marrero, a parishioner at St. Michael's, who spearheaded the project, said the build was in keeping with the church's teachings. Teams from each parish worked on designated days.

"At St. Michael's, what we preach continuously is going outside of walls, beyond the parish," he said. "We practice our faith by helping where help is needed. It's about putting our faith into action. The biggest mission, and what's most important is, a family is getting a new house and that's all that matters."

Anne Weeks, a member of Holy Spirit parish, said she hopes collaboration between the partner parishes will continue.

"Since Holy Spirit and St. Paul share a priest, this was a great opportunity to take the collaboration that is already going on in the Catholic church and put it to work, and to bring the parishes to start thinking that, you know, let's look at ways in which we could collaborate, and this was a great opportunity," she said.

Phil Salsek, a member of the Knights of Columbus and St. Francis, said volunteering was a learning opportunity. He encourages others to give it a try.

"I'm not a person who swings a hammer very much, but I found out that I'm able to frame a house," he said to laughter. "You know, I think a lot of people don't want to get involved because they think they need to know how to build a house. No, you're taught as you do it. It was a joy working with the Mathis family as well as people from the other parishes because otherwise we really don't collaborate a whole lot; we kind of stay in our little areas. I think that people of our parish and the Knights of Columbus enjoyed ourselves and learned that, going forward, this is something we'd like to try to do in the future because it wasn't as hard as we thought it would be."

Courtney Brown, the ministry's family partnership director, said that because Habitat doesn't charge families interest on their mortgages, parents are better able to provide for their children.

"We create homes, we create communities one house at a time," she said. "At Habitat, we don't feel like it's just that a person works hard every day and comes home to a place that is either unaffordable or that's falling around them and there's nothing they can do about it."

Brown noted that the local affiliate is 35 years old.

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Ward 4 Councilwoman Chris Smith welcomed the family — her nephew and niece — to the ward. Habitat has made a multi-year commitment to building and repairing homes in southeast Canton. The investment has resulted in new infrastructure, including repaved streets and new sewers.

"I'm so happy," she said. "I'm so glad that we're here on this day because not only are you opening the door to a house, but you have a key to your home. And I know that it's going to be blessed because I understand that in the walls, there's scriptures. We know that God is all in this. I'd just like to thank Habitat for all that you do."

Bonnar said the project reminded him of his office motto, "That all may be one."

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"My motto was the echoing of Jesus's prayer, that all may be one," he said "Nothing excites me, more when people come together and become one. And unity isn't uniformity. This happens in a myriad of ways, and we see that here in this room and we see that with so many hands. We're all in this together and we're so much stronger when we are together."

Harold Ziegler was given special recognition for his contribution.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Bishop David Bonnar blesses Habitat home built by Catholic volunteers