We've had a miracle

Lutheran, The, Nov 1999

Lutheran, UCC congregations hustle to continue before- and after-school ministry

When Faith United Church of Christ, Garden Grove, Calif., voted in the spring to close its doors after years of decline, members wanted its before- and after- school ministry to continue.

But how? Faith had worked hard and spent thousands of dollars to pass California's rigorous licensing requirements. Any church that took on "Faith Kids Club" would have to do the same, and do it quickly enough to begin serving 100 schoolchildren in September.

Gail Benson, pastor of Faith, recalls a spring meeting at which one member lamented it would take a miracle for the program to survive. "Four months later she stood up in church and said, 'We've had a miracle! ' " Benson said.

St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Garden Grove, adopted the program and opened it when schools began classes.

"Miraculous is the word," said Dennis Laherty, pastor of St. Olaf. To meet licensing requirements, St. Olaf built bathrooms, upgraded its second story, fenced in a playground and bought equipment.

Pulling it off required teamwork, commitment and cash. Eager souls from both churches provided teamwork and commitment in abundance, and Faith paid $72,000 to cover renovations and establish a $25,000 contingency fund mandated by licensing. Although Faith agreed to cover St. Olaf's expenses, the UCC congregation went the second mile and spent $27,000 of its last money on a 14passenger van to pick up and drop off schoolchildren.

"The bottom line was the mission," Benson said. "You've got lowincome families who benefit from this program and otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it."

St. Olaf agreed the mission was important enough to continue, Laherty says, especially in light of recent schoolyard shootings that evidence trouble among America's schoolchildren. The Lutheran congregation, which for years has run a preschool for about 100 toddlers, had discussed expanding its ministry to children. St. Olaf's leaders took Faith's predicament as a signal to act.

"It was just a tremendous opportunity," Laherty says. "The congregation here was totally responsive."

The project did more than merely keep a program going, Benson said.

"It really was a balm for the people of Faith who were very pained about the closure of their church," she says. "It was just an absolute gift. The whole four months has been Spirit-filled."

Laherty agrees: "You can't deny the role of the Spirit in what's happened here."