Warm meals, warm heart: how Mo McNeary feeds the poor

For two decades, Maureen McNeary has quietly powered the high-impact Sharing and Caring Hands ministry at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hastings. The mom of two teens, a beloved local radio personality known as Mo, shared her experiences.

Q It sounds like you just love people and that’s a springboard for much of your work.

A I have always been a people person and love getting to know people because everyone has their own story to tell. I spent 20 years in sales in corporate America and now get to talk to people all day on the radio (KDWA). My parents lived the Golden Rule and were always reaching out to people through prayer and kind works. I think the word “volunteerism” is just a formal term for what the Golden Rule really is.

Q What compelled you to first get involved in the Sharing and Caring Hands program at your parish some three decades ago?

A I had always admired the work of (founder) Mary Jo Copeland. I was working full time in Minneapolis and started taking one vacation day a month to volunteer for the ministry. It was so rewarding to spend time with the guests of Sharing and Caring and hear their stories.

Q How has the Sharing and Caring program at SEAS grown?

A Thankfully, the ministry has continued through our local church merge, many different pastors and has adapted to the needs of the poor for over 30 years. We prepare and deliver food for about 350 meals to Sharing and Caring Hands two times per month. We also coordinate and serve the annual Thanksgiving meal. Our ministry hosts a pie drive prior to Thanksgiving to collect pies to be served on Thanksgiving.

It has turned into a local ecumenical pie drive, with people from other local churches donating 300 to 400 pies to be served at the Thanksgiving meal at Sharing and Caring. What a witness to God’s call to love our neighbors!

Q What have you learned from running the program?

A I’ve learned how easily a person can fall through the cracks of life and that any one of us could need the services of Sharing and Caring Hands. How wonderful that a place like this exists. I also have learned that if you want something done, just do it. Take charge! Too many good intentions and ideas get lost and never happen if the process becomes too complicated. God calls us to love one another. It really all comes down to that.

Q You manage some 40 volunteers a month. That’s a lot of moving parts!

A The concept of feeding the hungry isn’t really complicated. There are hungry people at Sharing and Caring Hands, so we buy food, prepare food, transport food and then feed the people that are hungry. This is repeated two times a day, and we are just one tiny part of the chain. We source the food ourselves to save money and be good stewards of the financial gifts people give the ministry. If people donate money, it’s used only to buy food — there’s no middle man. I think that’s why it’s been successful. People know exactly where their donations are going and how impactful their donation is. People like to give their time and talent to things they believe in.

Q It sounds like your volunteer team has been on quite a journey.

A We have had some major ups and downs as a group, health wise. Of the core nine regular meal preparers, five of us have had cancer in the last four years and two volunteers have passed away in the last year. But our ministry has been an opportunity to pray for each other and grieve with each other and thank God for the blessing of this ministry.

Q How has cancer changed you?

A Any health diagnosis forces you to slow down and refocus on what’s important. So many good things can come out of something perceived as bad. I’m still continuing treatment but in remission.

Q You’ve seen the connection between faith and finance again and again — and, ultimately, how God will provide.

A God provides through the generous financial donations and volunteerism of people who allow our local ministry to continue. It makes me smile thinking of the many times that God has shown Himself in this process and how many times over the years I am absolutely sure I have met Jesus in the people we serve.

Q How have you experienced God’s generosity?

A God’s goodness is overwhelming, and I try to be so grateful every day for all God has done in my life. I wrestle with why some people struggle and suffer so much here on earth. There is so much hunger, war, sickness and suffering in the world, and you wish you could do more to help. I know we are never closer to Jesus on the cross than when we are suffering, but it’s heartbreaking to see so many people suffer and try to understand how this is part of God’s plan.

Q What have you learned from Mary Jo Copeland?

A I honestly feel in the presence of a living saint when I am with Mary Jo. She is not of this world — that’s the only way to explain how she can keep doing what she is doing, day in and out. She has taught me so many great lessons in surrendering and trusting God. She reminds us that hope is powerful and anything is possible with God. Also, worrying about things is useless energy because God already knows how it will all shake out. She likes to say: “If he brought you to it, he’ll get you through it.

Mary Jo lost her husband last March in the middle of the pandemic lockdown but never missed a beat with her mission to help the poor. She promised God she would be his servant, and she keeps her promises.

Q I heard you have a huge dining room table. What does it mean to you?

A Yes, our dining room table seats 16. So many good laughs and tears have happened around that table! We have a large extended family, and before the pandemic, we enjoyed family dinners together every Sunday. Breaking bread with a mix of people is one of our favorite things to do. Sharing and Caring guests, wonderful priests, religious sisters from all over the world — we’ve even hosted Archbishop (Bernard) Hebda! There is nothing better than to be with others, sharing all life has to offer over a meal.

Q You understand how important it is to choose the right spouse. What advice would you give on that?

A My husband and I got married later in life and were engaged after just two dates. I prayed and prayed that God would find me worthy of a good spouse, and he sent the perfect one for me. I knew for sure how perfect my husband was when we started out our very first date by visiting one of my coworkers in the hospital. My husband is so sweet and supportive of all the crazy things I do, and I am so grateful.

Q What do you think is your purpose on earth?

A My purpose on earth is to get to heaven, and our job as parents is to help get our kids to heaven too. Anything else that happens along the way is just a bonus.