A new calling? Parish organizing

Recently, I volunteered with the Episcopal church, St. Stephen’s Parish, to clear out years of abandoned furniture, art supplies, decorations, kitchen stuff. The church is trying to reclaim their property for use as a new preschool, community event space and the creation of a welcoming worship area. I hadn’t worked with a church before, and it got me thinking about how churches are a lot like homes and congregations can be like families. Just like the home is a mirror of self, so is the church a mirror of the congregation. Many churches have faced declining membership and therefore declining funds. Maintenance is deferred and clutter accumulates. Just like people, congregations are aging and don’t have access to free labor to help move large items around. Therefore, furniture sits and sits…well meaning people “donate” to the church not really contemplating the end of life of the donated item.

Hauling away unwanted and unusable furniture and construction materials. Making room for new experiences!

I enlisted the Happy Haulers to take several loads of unusable furniture and construction materials to the dump. It was sad. I hate thinking about stuff going to the landfill. But when furniture is not maintained or cleaned for decades, no one wants it. The haulers told me that many of the charities that accept furniture are dealing with overflowing storage units themselves!

And just like a home…a church demands constant diligence to maintain the spaces and keep clutter at bay. Luckily, St. Stephen’s has several staff and members dedicated to this task. Their hopes and dreams for the space are being realized. It’s just as satisfying as when I work with a family to achieve their goals for their home.

Read my interview with St. Stephen’s to learn more about this project.