A mission field to romp in

Lutheran, The, Jul 2004 by Dworin, Diana

Dogs and cats make good neighbors to Austin,Texas, church

Every time they get out, the neighbor ' s dogs hightail it for the front lawn at Gethsemane Lutheran Church. Most come to romp and roam. Others show up to sniff the ground and do their business.

"When I'm inside the church and the windows are open, I'll hear them barking," says Karl Gronberg, a pastor of the 1,000-member congregation in Austin, Texas.

But don't think that Gronberg and parishioners are complaining. To them, this spacious yard is the perfect mission field for reaching out to the 120 strays that live next door at the Austin Humane Society.

"We see this as a ministry of our congregation," Gronberg says. "Together we're seeking to make things better for these animals."

For the past decade, only a small parking lot has separated the church's front doors from the Humane Society. Throughout that time, the shelter's volunteers have used Gethsemane's lawn for daily walks and playtime-conscientiously cleaning up after each visit.

"We'd be in a world of hurt without that exercise space," says Cheryl Black, the society's executive director. "It's a stressful situation for the animals when they're here. They need the sunshine to keep their stress levels down and to stay sane. The church gives the animals a better quality of life so they can be adoptable. And those pets go on to give their owners a better quality of life. It just goes around in a big circle."

Gethsemane's commitment to the society doesn't end with the lawn. The church lets the shelter use a fenced side yard for off-leash play. Children who attend Gethsemane's day-care center also visit and bathe the dogs and cats.

It's about stewardship

What's more, Gronberg blesses the animals each Christmas and members host adoption and education events in the church gym. "So much of life is about stewardship, and pets are certainly a part of that experience," Gronberg says. "God entrusts these animals to our care."

Member Craig Olson understands that sense of stewardship. Some Sundays he volunteers at the shelter before heading to worship. "When you walk [the dogs], they always look out over the field as if they are trying to see whether their old owners are coming back to get them," he says.

Chevy, a white American Eskimo with a history of heartworm disease, caught Olson's eye. "I'd come in every Sunday and say, Oh, Chevy, you're still here,' " he recalls. "After about three months of this, I decided he was the one for us to take home."

Chevy joined previously adopted Belle. "We have a special spot in our hearts for the downtrodden and the lonely," he says.

So does member Christine Virta, who adopted her dog from the society three years ago. "I saw Olive in the kennel and she had the most flirtatious eyes," she says. "I knew I wanted a messy-faced terrier and there she was."

The shelter's adoption information says Olive is a direct descendant of the dog that played Toto in The Wizard of Oz. But Olive isn't a madefor-movies pet. When adopted, she had a skin condition and wasn't entirely housebroken.

"Olive really needed her confidence built up," Virta says. "Books about dogs will tell you that sometimes the most difficult pets in the beginning become the most wonderful ones in the end."

The partnership between the church and shelter demonstrates a shared interest in compassion toward God's creatures, Black and Gronberg say. While the municipal pound euthanizes thousands of pets each year, the society is known as Austin's largest "no-kill" facility.

"We respect these animals as living beings," Black says. "They are a part of God's world, and we do our best to try to take care of them."

To Gethsemane's parishioners, that's a worthy reason for being good neighbors. "This is just one of our ways of affirming God's creation," Gronberg says.

Dworin, a free-lance writer, attends Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas. Two large poodles graciously allow her to live in their home.