Painful church closing leads to widespread welcome for a much-needed food bank

By Rachel Pritchett, communicator

SOUTH BEND, Wash. — It was heartbreaking for Laura Michaelson when Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Raymond closed in 2008.
The 64-year-old lifelong Pacific County resident had been baptized and married there. The church had been central in the lives of her children and grandchildren.
"It was extremely difficult," Michaelson said.
But a critically poor economy in Raymond brought on mostly by cuts in the timber-products industry left little choice.
Members of the struggling congregation went on to worship with First Lutheran Church in nearby South Bend.
Both were congregations of the Southwestern Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
As painful as the closing was, it led to the formation of the only food bank in South Bend, where unemployment remains around 11.9 percent — about three points higher than the state and national averages — and where working families and seniors on fixed incomes struggle to make it to the end of the month. At the height of the recession, joblessness stood at 15.4 percent, according to the Washington Department of Employment Security.
Some of the proceeds from the sale of Our Savior's went to a food bank, at first opened in 2009 at First Lutheran. Just recently, the congregation that sits between peaceful Willapa Bay and the rolling Willapa Hills purchased land and a building near the church and moved its food bank there. About $15,000 was done in improvements, mostly for the installation of a wheelchair ramp.
A formal opening of the Legacy Community Outreach Food Bank was held in June. "Legacy" was made part of the name to remember Our Savior's, which had a strong food ministry.
"That's why we have the strange name," Michaelson said.
The food bank has more players involved than the First Lutheran congregation. Members from the community join First Lutheran members to sit on the board of the separate nonprofit. Michaelson is president. And while First members contribute mightily to the food bank, so does South Bend businesses and volunteers who know the great need here. The South Bend School District conducts regular drives for the food bank, as do the Boy Scouts.
Inside the food bank stand shelves full of cereals and soda, beans and chili. Closets are full of toilet paper and soda.
It's open from 2 to 5:30 p.m. every Wednesday, late enough so the working poor can stop by.
So far, the food bank is serving about 237 families a month, which translates to about 800 individuals. The number is growing in an area where about 18 percent of residents fall beneath the federal poverty line.
The Rev. Laurie Johnson of First Lutheran oversaw parishioners bring in bags of food to worship on June 26. Donations were heaped high around the altar.
Pastor Johnson's husband, Gary, is on the food bank board and performs a lot of the heavy hauling, including driving truck deliveries of food contributions from far away. He said it's different when a faith organization takes on the challenge of a food bank.
Sometimes the money might not be there right away, causing the nonprofit to step out in faith. But it always comes eventually.
"We are doing things on faith, and thing happen," Gary Johnson said.
"When you have God doing a food ministry, it is a lot," said Mary Ann Dirkes, treasurer of the food-bank board.
Gary Johnson also said that the food has changed the merged congregation forever into one where the "servant aspect" is tops.
Dirkes said some in the congregation used to think of food-bank users as lazy. But then they discovered visitors had hungry children. Volunteers learned to step back, not ask, and be less judgmental.
"We all make mistakes sometimes," Dirkes said.
"People are people; we are all God's people," Gary Johnson said.
Meanwhile, the former Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Raymond is about to start a second life as a senior center, just as a merger once so painful has resulted a new food bank in this green corner of the state where the need is so very compelling.

Pictured top to bottom:

The Rev. Laurie Johnson conducts services at First Lutheran on June 26.

Left to right, Mary Ann Dirkes, Laura Michaelson and Gary Johnson pose inside the food bank. All are on the food bank's nonprofit board and volunteer to help feed the hungry.

Bags are piled at worship at First Lutheran destined for the food bank.

The former Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Raymond is about to open as a senior center.

Something beautiful grows from merger of two congregations

Readers,

Here's how the town of South Bend and the north fork of the Willapa River were looking this weekend. I was there to find out about something very special that has grown from the merger of the former Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Raymond and First Lutheran Church of South Bend. Look here in 24 hours and you'll find out what it is.

Rachel Pritchett

Associated Ministries collects school supplies

Associated Ministries again this year is collecting school supplies for families that struggle to meet this enormous expense. Supplies will be give away at the organization's Annual Schools Supply Giveaway from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 19 at Associated Ministries, 1224 South I St., Tacoma.
Supplies that are needed include backpacks, ruled paper, pencils, pencil boxes, crayons, washable markers, notebooks, tape, safety scissors, folders, glue sticks and rulers.
Checks with "school supplies" noted also are welcome.
Drop off donations at Associated Ministries. The deadline is Aug. 12. For more information, contact Associated Ministries at (253) 383-3056, Ext. 109.

Seeking students attending Nampa colleges

The Rev. Meggan Manlove of Trinity Lutheran Church of Nampa, Idaho, is seeking contact information for students in this synod and other Northwest synods who attend either Northwest Nazarene University or College of Western Idaho, both in Nampa. The congregation is planning a back-to-school brunch. Pastor Manlove can be reached at (208) 466-2173 or
nampatrinity.org.

Conference that looks at congregations’ spiritual formation begins Monday

The 2011 Pacific Lutheran University Summer Conference on Pastoral Theology focuses on “The Spiritual Formation of the Congregation” and takes place June 20 through 22. For more information, contact the Rev. G. Lee Kluth, PLU director of congregational relations, at (253) 
535-7423 or 
e-mail him at crel@plu.edu.

Speaking of The Lutheran ....

The magazine of the ELCA has invited us to contribute more articles this summer, so I'm putting out a call for some fresh story ideas from our congregations. Probably not efforts we're all doing, like vacation Bible schools or camps, as important as those are.
But rather something with a twist that might inspire a congregation in a new way. Maybe your youth are doing outreach in a way someone else might not have thought of. Perhaps there's a special person in your congregation who has a story of faith that should be shared.
Here's an example of a story idea: I remember there was this huge brown dog named Molly in my congregation who was just about the best instrument of evangelism I ever saw. Every kid on Bainbridge Island knew and loved Molly, and she always led them right to the church. After worship, the pastors would stand by the door. You'd shake their hands, then take a step or two outside, and try to get Molly to shake hands, too. Anyway, I procrastinated too long, and Molly finally died before I wrote something for The Lutheran. I think she died of overeating on Sundays because everyone was bringing her a week's worth of bones and scraps.
So don't put off telling that story until tomorrow. You can send stories and photos directly to The Lutheran via www.thelutheran.org, or contact me at (206) 498-0920, cell, or rachelpritchett@msn.com and I'll come and do it. — Rachel Pritchett

Story on greening of the funeral industry scheduled

The Rev. Kent Shane and parishioner Melinda Madama of First Lutheran Church of Poulsbo, as well as the Rev. Rod Kastelle, ret., member of Faith Lutheran Church of Elma, are featured in my story about the greening of the funeral industry, scheduled for the July issue of The Lutheran.
All share their experiences.
The story looks at some of the green trends baby boomers are demanding from the industry as they make decisions about final disposition of their parents.
These trends are still very new, but include things like basket caskets, and biodegradable urns, foregoing concrete vaults, the cremation alternative alkaline hydrolysis, and new kinds of green cemeteries right here in Washington.

— Rachel Pritchett