Patchwork of Purpose: Reflection by Donna Knudson

Reflection written by Donna Kling Knudson
Shared on March 29. 2025 at JVCNW Annual Benefit Dinner

---

It’s such an honor to be here this evening in front of my favorite kind of folks – JVs, JVEs, and those that love them.

The patchwork of my past with JVC Northwest might be very similar to yours. I was introduced to JVC Northwest by a Holy Names nun teaching where I was a student teacher. Yes, totally random. A few months later, I was living in community in Fairbanks, Alaska—praying at home Masses, loving—most of the time—my 12 housemates, serving the K–12 Catholic school next door, and developing my teaching skills. I married one of these housemates and, sadly, have buried three of them.

After those two service years, I continued to seek ways to serve, finding myself bonding with other former JVs, which led me to St. Leo Parish in Tacoma and the beginning of my understanding of Jesuit spirituality.

The patchwork of my present service was a circuitous route. I had a very difficult time moving into retirement. I needed a purpose. I happened to attend a JVC Northwest Benefit Gala in Portland a few years before retirement, and one of the speakers talked about something called JV EnCorps. She described her experience supporting an immigrant family. I was enthralled, and it gave me a glimpse of future possibilities.

Then a JVE community launched in Tacoma—there it was, my purpose. A group of folks following the Gospel values and seeking ways to serve the marginalized. I was all in.

As a JVE, we pick our own service placements. Since 2017, I have served at L’Arche Farm and Gardens. The farm staff includes Core Members, who are folks with intellectual disabilities. From day one, I saw how connected the Core Members were to the farm, to the staff, and to one another. The workday starts with a check-in and announcements. We are assigned the work for the day. Finally, we cheer with the word of the day. All are involved.

I was prepared to be the best volunteer farmer ever, and soon realized by example that it was really all about the relationships. I’d like to share one of the relationships I have built there.

My first work with Debra, a Core Member, was cutting cedar boughs to build Christmas wreaths. I was on a ladder, whopping off limbs, and Debra was on the ground picking them up and… talking. I tried to carry on the conversation until I realized she was just being vocal about the current experience, and that I was accompanying her on the task—and that that was enough.

Another day, several of us were working together to sort hundreds of pots in a huge messy pile. Debra was correcting me on my sorting prowess. I was dumbfounded. After all, I have a master’s degree, and I had put the round pots together and the square pots together very well, thank you. But Farmer Debra told me to look at the bottom, and… guess what! Some have five holes, some have four holes, some pots have ridges, and some don’t. I was humbled. I learned again to value Debra as a co-worker. If I need to know the name of a plant, I ask Debra. And Debra is an excellent artist. She crafts many projects at home but also puts together beautiful dahlia bouquets to sell by the roadside.

My volunteer hours shifted a bit, and the farm manager suggested I take Debra out for coffee on one of her days off. I didn’t quite understand. Why would we go out for coffee? Wasn’t I supposed to be doing farm work with Debra? But now, for the past three years, I look forward to Friday mornings when Debra and I go out for coffee, see our “Friday Friends,” and greet our baristas. We check out Wilco’s for seasonal decorations or to greet the baby chicks, and always go to the Dollar Tree to shop and say hi to our favorite clerk, Christine.

At the end of our Friday outings, I thank Debra for hanging out with me. When I started, I thought I was called to serve the Core Members at L’Arche, but now I see I was called to be part of this community—way more gratifying.

I am so lucky to be bonded to my JVE members. Will the Tacoma members please stand? And other past or present members of JVE? Our monthly meetings bring laughter and tears, new insights, inspiration, and always great snacks. I look forward to our Advent party, which includes the young ones—our local JVs. We are at our own placements, but as a group we have served coffee to folks on the street, cleaned up the rectory garden, and shared our various service stories. These are my peeps.

In the future, I will continue to serve at the farm and on the Farm Visioning Committee, and—most importantly—have coffee with my friend, Debra.

I am different as a result of my service—the marginalized are constantly on my radar—the way I vote, the way I give to charitable contributions, the way I serve.

My life’s patchwork—past, present, and future—is woven together by this fabulous organization, Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. I am forever grateful.