by Jill Ragar Esfeld
jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
SHAWNEE — “I know the church is opposed to human cloning,” said Good Shepherd pastor Father Kent O’Connor. “But if I could, I would make a dozen more Jack Carson.
“His generosity with his gifts and talents is incredible.”
Indeed, Good Shepherd parishioner Jack Carson volunteers with the parish’s Knights of Columbus, landscaping, blood drive, food drive and its mission in Buen Pastor, El Salvador.
Carson has a simple explanation for his generous nature.
“Well, it gives you good reason to get up in the morning,” he said. “It just seems to me like you could sit at home and watch reruns, but I like getting out.”
Carson also likes the camaraderie that comes with taking part in volunteer opportunities.
“Like with the Knights,” he said. “You get to know the guys that way. And it’s the same with the people that work on the gardens; we all know each other and work together.
“It’s just a good way to keep associated with people.”
Carson made his career as an engineer, married and raised four children who have given him 14 grandchildren.
After he retired, he trained to become a Johnson County Extension Master Gardener.
Horticulture is in his blood.
“Mother — and really her whole side of the family — were gardeners,” he said. “And two of my brothers are in the nursery business.
“So yes, I’m a master gardener, but for me that’s a small ‘m.’”
Carson is a volunteer for two gardens in Shawnee Town and lends his expertise to landscape projects at Good Shepherd.
“We’ve got some regular flower gardens and I’ve got one of those,” he said. “We call it the red garden.”
The red garden captures the eye as you walk into the church building. It is a wide burst of begonias circling a crucifix made by Carson.
An even more critical cause dear to Carson’s heart is the Community Blood Center.
Good Shepherd was the first parish to organize a blood drive almost 50 years ago. For eight years, Carson has coordinated the effort to continue that important service.
He also helps with the monthly food drive for Catholic Charities, picking up the donation truck, helping load donations and delivering them back to Catholic Charities.
Father O’Connor is grateful for parishioners like Carson who help facilitate acts of charity within the parish.
“A parish really does not survive without key volunteers,” he said. “People like Jack are essential to thriving parishes.”
Carson agreed with that philosophy.
“Look around,” he said. “There’s always a need someplace in your community; you don’t have to look very far.
“We’re very fortunate in our country to have the standard of living we have, and so it’s a way to show our thanks.”
Carson had an opportunity to show thanks for his engineering skills when he lent them to Good Shepherd’s ministry in Buen Pastor, El Salvador.
During the rainy season, villagers had to wait for flooding to subside — or travel a mile downstream to get across the rain-swollen creek.
Carson collaborated with two other engineers to design a solution.
The Buen Pastor community helped with much of the labor, and donations from Good Shepherd helped purchase additional labor and materials.
“We helped them build what they called a bridge,” he explained. “But it is actually a high-water crossing.
“We put these three culverts through the embankment to handle the flow of the creek.
“It’s worked so far.”
Volunteering was a great support when Carson’s wife passed away three years ago.
“Yes, once again, being with people,” he said.
An avid golfer, Carson found solace in the friendships built around that sport, but he also found a way to turn his hobby into an act of charity by volunteering to help with the Catholic Charities Golf Classic.
“I knew most of the people that were out there playing,” he said. “And so, it was kind of fun.”
The only restriction to Carson’s volunteer activities involves his dog Ollie.
“My volunteer schedule rotates around Ollie’s life,” he said. “We adopted him (from Wayside Waifs) when my wife was housebound and bedridden a lot.
“They said he was a Shih Tzu mix; he’s got a mind of his own!”
Though he does a great deal through his volunteer efforts, Carson insists he is not alone.
“I’d just like to deflect any praise because there are probably six or seven people who do as much as I do and more,” he said.
Father O’Connor is grateful for them all.
“Not all of us are called to spend many hours on a parish campus volunteering,” he acknowledged. “But as followers of Jesus, all of us are called to serve.
“It is a question we should ask daily, ‘Where is Christ calling me to serve today?’”
For Carson, it’s all part of his faith journey.
“I just think volunteering gives you opportunities to express your faith and do things for others,” he said. “The question is ‘Who are your neighbors?’
“Well, everybody is your neighbor.”
