By Father James Maciejewski

When Arnold Vickery, treasurer of the now defunct Gordon Street Baptist Church, offered a church donation last week to the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Free Cancer Home, he didn’t specify an amount to Sr. Marie Cordis, superintendent of the home.

“When he telephoned me,” she said, “I just assumed the donation would be around $200.”

When Vickery and two other church officials arrived shortly after the telephone call to make the official presentation, Sr. Marie Cordis found that her guess was off considerably.

They presented her with a check for $10,000.

“What a surprise,” exclaimed a momentarily speechless Sr. Cordis.

The funds are part of those derived from the sale of the Gordon Street Baptist Church, disbanded several months ago when it became obvious that most members of the congregation had moved out of the immediate area and scattered to other churches.

The donation to the cancer home for the incurably ill was given “in memory of former members of the Gordon Street Baptist Church who were the recipients of your gracious care, both physical and spiritual.”

Sr. Marie Cordis has fond memories of those church members, all of whom are now deceased. She remembered particularly Lil Cornell, whom Sister called ‘a complete Christian who died a most beautiful death.”

Sr. Cordis said the $10,000 would be applied to the home’s present building fund drive, which has a goal of a million dollars. Only an anonymous donor’s gift of $30,000 represents a larger lump-sum donation so far.

Construction has already begun on a modern facility to be built behind the present home on the Washington Street property. Completion is scheduled for February of 1974.