Catholics For Habitat Sponsor Home In Evansville

Habitat for Humanity of Evansville’s house dedication ceremonies tend to mirror the characteristics of the Habitat organization. They’re quiet and unassuming, yet powerful. They’re also deeply rooted in Christian prayer and a spirit of thanksgiving.

On a recent Saturday, new homeowner Gary Miller put his own twist on the typical dedication, with the full blessing of the Habitat representatives on hand. Miller, whose house on the corner of Morton and Sweetser avenues in Evansville’s historic Glenwood neighborhood was sponsored by Catholics for Habitat, chose to celebrate the Nov. 17 occasion by turning his front yard into a taste-tempting barbecue buffet line.

“I have to tell you, this has to be the biggest dedication that I have ever seen,” said Benedictine Sister Jane Michelle McClure, major gifts officer for Habitat of Evansville. “This is one big dedication!”

While the crowd was larger than usual and the mood was especially joyous, the dedication ceremony still centered on prayers of thanksgiving. Deacon David Cook, St. Benedict Cathedral, provided the invocation.

“Almighty and everlasting God, grant to this home, the grace of your presence,” said Deacon Cook. “That you may be known to inhabit this dwelling and defend this household, through Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns – one God forever and ever. Amen.”

Miller then addressed the crowd from his new front porch, reading from the book of Isaiah: “I shall open up rivers on barren heights and water-holes down in the ravines; I shall turn the desert into a lake and dry ground into springs of water.” 

“This is truly a blessing,” he said. “My friends who are here today, they know the struggles that I have been through in my life. I’ve come a long way. Having a brand-new home, a beautiful home, wasn’t even in the cards for me, in my eyes.”

Miller said that two years ago his only thought was, “how am I going to get out of this one-bedroom apartment with my family?” Now that family, which includes Gary’s 10-year-old son, Tre, and his cousin’s school-age son, Marquis, has a spacious new place to call home thanks to the continuation of a long partnership between the diocese and Habitat of Evansville.

While Evansville-area Catholic parishes have been supporting Habitat for Humanity of Evansville for nearly three decades, a group known as Catholics for Habitat was formed in 2005 to allow area churches to more effectively serve the Habitat mission.

Ginny Cook, dedication chairperson for this year’s “Catholic Build,” spoke at the ceremony and thanked the Catholic community for “many, many generous in-kind donations and many other donations that helped make this (home) possible.”

“We are very pleased to have such a wonderful occupant for this house,” she added.

Miller, a manager at Colonial Garden Center in Evansville, calls being a homeowner a “game-changer.” He became a father at 18, and at 22, he said he “hit rock bottom,” living in his car for two weeks with no money for food.

Today, at 29, Gary says he is a different person. His life is faith-focused, and he considers each day an abundant blessing.

At the close of the dedication ceremony, Lori Reed, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Evansville, invited all in attendance to turn their heads down Morton Avenue, then down Sweetser Avenue. “This is your mission field,” she told Miller, adding that his corner lot could become the cornerstone for a vibrant new neighborhood.

“This is one house in an entire neighborhood, and when Habitat does its house-building ministry, we significantly improve the whole neighborhood – especially when partnering with homeowners like Gary,” said Reed.

Nodding affirmatively, Miller thanked Reed and pledged to do his part to improve a neighborhood that he has known and loved his entire life.

“I grew up right around the corner, so I’m moving right back home,” he said.