Since its founding in 1973, the Glenmary volunteer program has been rooted in four pillars: service, simplicity, prayer, and community.
“Our week-long mission immersion trips give people an opportunity to slow down and think about what’s true in their lives,” says Joe Grosek, a Glenmary volunteer director since 2003.
Now based at the 10-acre Glenmary Farm on Joppa Mountain in Grainger County, Tennessee, the program welcomes high school, college, and adult groups seeking hands-on mission experiences.
Although the program didn’t begin in Tennessee, its roots run deep. Grosek recalls that volunteers would report to the Glenmary Farm in Lewis County, Kentucky.
When that mission area became self-sustaining in 2011, the land was returned to the local diocese, and Glenmary began searching for new mission territories in neighboring Union and Grainger Counties in eastern Tennessee.
Although the location has changed, the goal remains the same: to serve the community’s practical and spiritual needs. Volunteers have helped build wheelchair ramps, repair staircases, and chop wood for winter heating—signs of their commitment to service.
“We identify needs, and volunteer groups fulfill those needs under my supervision,” says Grosek, who is also a licensed contractor in Tennessee.
He oversees construction work alongside three or four long-term volunteers known as mountain managers.
But the mission goes well beyond construction. “Glenmary volunteers also serve in food pantries, nursing homes, the Kingswood Home for Children, and at a summer day camp for the children of migrant workers,” Grosek explains.
“We wear a lot of hats,” he says. “When Glenmary launched the volunteer program in the ’70s, the goal was to offer people a firsthand mission experience and help them discern their vocations. It’s also a powerful way to connect with the broader Catholic Church.”
Grosek emphasizes that the work includes both direct service—like building a ramp or serving food—and the equally important ministry of presence, which might mean simply spending time with nursing home residents or playing with children at Kingswood.
“Sitting with someone and hearing their story is just as meaningful as building a ramp,” he says. “That human connection is at the heart of what we do. Interaction is a way people find God.”
Volunteers also live simply, building a faith-based community rooted in prayer. “Through simplicity, we try to remove distractions that keep you from community,” Grosek explains.
“It’s about discovering the goodness in all people—not just those you serve, but those you serve with. It’s about finding Christ in everyone and encountering God throughout the week.”
For Grosek, the most rewarding part is witnessing spiritual growth among mountain managers and forming lasting bonds with families, volunteers, and school chaperones.
“I’ve been fed by those people,” he says, “and I treasure those relationships.”
