​St. Leo Parish in Murray recently opened its doors to Team Rubicon, an international disaster recovery team, in order to assist in the tornado recovery efforts in Mayfield. Pictured are members of Team Rubicon. COURTESY OF ALICIA SHIELDS/TEAM RUBICON

BY SHAWN TOUNEY, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

St. Leo Parish in Murray recently opened its doors to Team Rubicon, an international disaster recovery team, in order to assist in the tornado recovery efforts in Mayfield.

For a roughly five-week period in January and early February, the parish housed individuals of the organization, ranging from 45 to 75 per week, inside its parish hall while Team Rubicon executed its operation in Mayfield.

Established in 2010, Team Rubicon is comprised of military veterans whose mission is to provide relief to those affected by disaster. By pairing the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders, medical professionals, and technology solutions, Team Rubicon aims to provide the greatest service and impact possible.

“Team Rubicon is grateful for the amazing hospitality that the parish has shown,” said Alicia Shields, field leadership team and Arizona state administrator, who served as the planning and operations section chief during the Mayfield operation. “It was wonderful to be able to lay our heads down at night in a safe and warm environment. We are also very grateful for the wonderful meals that were provided by the parish during our stay in Kentucky. It has been an honor to serve the community and to be hosted by St. Leo Parish.”

St. Leo Parish in Murray recently opened its doors to Team Rubicon, an international disaster recovery team, in order to assist in the tornado recovery efforts in Mayfield. Pictured are members of Team Rubicon. COURTESY OF ALICIA SHIELDS/TEAM RUBICON

St. Leo pastor, Fr. Josh McCarty, said: “It has been a grace to house and support Team Rubicon as they assist our neighbors in Mayfield to clean up and rebuild. St. Leo (parish community) has been tremendously generous in serving the men and women of Team Rubicon with accommodations, finances and food. It is difficult to know how to respond to such devastation. Team Rubicon has been a true help.”

In December, Fr. Greg Trawick, pastor of St. Henry Parish in Hardin and St. Stephen Parish in Cadiz, who had also been assisting Team Rubicon with their accommodations, called Fr. McCarty to see if St. Leo might be open and interested to house Team Rubicon as it was time for them to find another location. Fr. McCarty spoke with the staff and leadership of St. Leo and decided to welcome Team Rubicon if they were so interested. Megan Bell, St. Leo pastoral associate, took up the project and worked with parishioners, especially Renee Fister, to iron out the details, accommodations and food for the workers.

The team’s daily routine consisted of breakfast inside the St. Leo parish hall followed by a briefing in nearby Hardin before beginning their work in Mayfield by 8 a.m. Members of the group served the community by providing sawyer work (chainsaw), heavy equipment operations, muck-outs, roof tarping and debris clean-up.

Work took place until 4 p.m. most days before the group traveled back to Murray for an evening debrief, equipment cleaning and dinner served at the parish hall.

St. Stephen and St. Leo parishes provided coordination of evening meals from Dec. 13 through Feb. 3 for a total of 2,025 meals. Organizations donated food from local restaurants and local restaurants discounted the cost for this purpose. Parishioners delivered the food to Team Rubicon to assist. Additionally, members of these parishes as well as other churches in the region (both Catholic and Protestant) prepared evening meals. Additionally, Future Grounds donated up to half of the cost of specialty coffee from Jan. 2 through Feb. 3 and St. Leo took care of the other portion. The Center for Health and Wellness associated with Murray-Calloway County Hospital generously allowed Team Rubicon to use their shower facilities upon learning that the shower trailers were inoperable due to weather conditions.

The group utilized the parish hall for lodging with cots provided by the National Guard.

Shields has served with Team Rubicon for nearly two years and recounted the impact the storm damage had on her, as well as the interactions between volunteers and community members.

“I am familiar with tornadoes but I have never seen anything quite like this,” said Shields, who is from Phoenix, Ariz., and grew up in Ohio. “Hearing the survivor’s stories have been quite impactful. I have seen the stories from this operation have an impact on our Greyshirts more than I have seen before. We were able to serve several veterans which is always special, as we are a veteran-founded organization.”

Individuals interested in learning more about Team Rubicon and their efforts across the globe, or are interested in getting involved and serving with Team Rubicon, can visit teamrubiconusa.org.

Shawn Touney belongs to St. Leo Parish in Murray.

Originally printed in the April 2022 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.