Lorraine Going won’t hesitate a second to tell you why she doesn’t give up the various ministries she’s involved in and just enjoy her life. "I am enjoying my life!" she says. "I’m enjoying retirement. I like being able to put my energies into things I want to do." Things she wants to do include a number of volunteer activities. At St. Lucy she has been on the Community Action Committee for 10 years, chairperson for the last six years, has also been a member of Circle of Friends, and belongs to a Small Christian Community.

There’s an encyclopedia of activities the Community Action Committee is engaged in.  "We funded the building of houses in Nicaragua," says Lorraine. "Actually we set out to build a house, maybe two. We ended up building 13!" At $1200 per house, or $800 plus a partial matching grant, the committee raised more than $11,000 to put up the concrete block structures, each of which means "home" for a Nicaraguan family.

"Also we have very successful clothing drives," says Lorraine, "for people in need." Sometimes the committee is able to bring a speaker to Sunday Masses to help publicize the activities; sometimes they do it on their own.

Outside St. Lucy Lorraine has been a Hospice volunteer with Visiting Nurse Service in Portsmouth.

"Doing these things helps us feel good about ourselves," says Lorraine. "It’s part of my faith," she says. "It’s a way to give back from all the blessings I’ve received."

Among the blessings are a long and happy marriage to husband Joseph B. Going, who died in March 1999, and the six children they raised - Joanna and David, who live in California; Carla, Andrew, and Martin in Rhode Island; and Paul, who works in New York City and lives in New Jersey. Plus several grandchildren.

Prior to marrying Joe, Lorraine grew up and lived in Providence, going to Catholic elementary and high schools there, leaving to get an English degree at Emmanuel College in Boston.

She and Joe spent their first year together in Washington, where he was a lawyer for the FTC. After that stint they returned to Rhode Island and settled in Newport. There in St. Mary’s parish Lorraine became a lector and taught religious education when her kids were small. She was a substitute teacher for a couple of years before settling on the Newport Police Department, where she was a dispatcher for 23 years. Everything that was going on came to the police through her - violent calls, tragic calls, sometimes humorous calls. It was a "learning experience of human nature" according to Lorraine.

She and Joe moved to Middletown and St. Lucy in 1994. "St. Lucy had a reputation for being a very innovative parish," she says, "always looking forward." She got involved in ministry at St. Lucy the next year when friend Peggy Hughes - a member of the Community Action Committee - got her to join. Eventually she would succeed Sue Viveiros as chairperson.

Carol Wilcox of Circle of Friends contacted her regularly when husband Joe became ill. Later, when Joe died, both Carol and Sister Eileen Shea of Hospice came to her support. Lorraine joined both organizations. She also tries to be of help to personal friends when needed. "That too is a ministry," she says.

Her advice to anyone looking for the "right" activity to participate in? "Go with your interests," she says, "do things you like to do."