Christian Community Center offers hidden-gem ministries in the West End
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For 150 years, the building at the northwest corner of Diamond and West Fourth streets served as the Newberry United Methodist Church. Then in 2004, with the congregation aging and the church building becoming more decrepit, the church closed.
The remaining members successfully merged with St. John's Newberry United Methodist and the building began a new life as the West End Christian Community Center.
"There were a lot of meetings about what to do with a building that is old and has some serious physical needs," said Todd Penman, executive director of the center.
The idea of making the space into a parking lot was discarded, though the owners knew the building could not sit idle for very long, Penman said.
Then, in 2005, the building began its new life as the West End Christian Community Center.
The first ministry the center undertook was the "Clothes Closet," according to Penman.
At the beginning there was talk of just giving clothing away, but the group in charge was advised against doing that.
"People like to shop," Penman shared. "If the community can come in and walk out with two grocery bags of clothes and say, 'look what I got for $5.' They feel so good about having gotten a bargain. Those same people won't go and take for nothing two grocery bags full of clothes."
It was decided that prices would be kept low. Typically children's clothing goes for 50 cents and a pair of blue jeans go for $1.50 and a winter coat for $3.00.
"We've done that because we've always wanted to be a ministry and that's still our guiding light. We are a ministry to the community," Penman said.
He was quick to add that anyone who walks through the door and has a need for food or clothing, the center will supply their needs regardless of a person's ability to pay, following an assessment by Penman so that people do not take advantage of the generosity.
"In all honesty, it's not abused. I want it to be used, but if someone comes back to the 'well' too often, we have to talk about it," he added.
From its beginnings as the flagship ministry, the Clothes Closet has grown to the point where it is totally operated by volunteers.
"Very committed volunteers," Penman stressed. "Believe it or not, with the 50 cent, dollar, dollar and a half sales, I actually use that money as part of my operating budget. That helps me pay my electricity bill or my gas bill."
The building is owned by St. John's Newberry United Methodist Church and the ministry is an outreach of that church, which did sponsor it during the early years, according to Penman, but that is no longer the case except through individual donations from their congregation. Today, the center's ministries are sponsored by various churches and denominations in the community.
"It's a very ecumenical outreach program," Penman said.
"I like it that way because, as our name says, we're a community center, we're a Christian center and we're an outreach. So, that community has a wide variety of people that we need to reach and a wide variety of backgrounds from which they come. A significant reason we're existing is because of the donations from a variety of churches and industry and clubs," he said.
The center's ministry has also grown in scope to include 20 programs and services, which operate out of the building. Some, such as the Clothes Closet, operate every day, while others, such as girl scout troops, might meet only a few times a month. The biggest impacts to the community, Penman noted, are in food and clothing.
One ministry, the Shoe Express, is one of the busier programs at the center, according to Penman.
This particular program was started and is coordinated by volunteers, Rick and Nancy Jacobs, who were looking for a ministry and thought this would be a worthy ministry for the area, Penman shared. It began around 2013 and is run totally by donations, preferably monetary.
"They designed the Shoe Express program so that children who qualified could get a brand new pair of sneakers. They'd have their feet fitted for the shoes and walk out with a brand new pair of shoes. Children from birth to seven years old can get them once a quarter because they're growing so much. Children from eight until their 18th birthday can get them once every six months. To qualify you must have an access card, a WIC card or a letter from a social service agency," he noted.
Since the Shoe Express program has been in existence, Penman estimates thousands of shoes have been given to children in the area.
"We've served over a thousand children and have given out thousands of shoes. We give away anywhere between 500 and 750 pairs of sneakers a year," he said.
Another flagship ministry is the soup kitchen, which Penman noted has been dubbed the "SK Cafe" by the volunteers because they felt it sounded better.
"We are truly a soup kitchen, however," he said, "from an understanding standpoint. We are able as a non-profit to register to purchase food through the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank."
Penman also noted that area grocery stores supply donations to the cafe.
"I can't say enough good things about the grocery stores in the area supplying us with good, quality food," he said.
The soup kitchen serves lunches four days a week between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The only day it does not serve meals is Wednesday.
"We often will have people coming in between 10 and 10:30 (a.m.). And they come in for the fellowship, for a gathering place, a warm place, a welcoming place. They're allowed to get coffee at 10:30 and they chat and tell stories. One of the added benefits, not just to getting physically satisfied with the food, but also for a lot of the people who come in here, they live alone, they are elderly or disabled and they need conversation. They need fellowship, they need companionship and they find it," he said. "And that's okay. We want that."
Penman said on the average the cafe serves between 50 to 100 people a day, depending on the weather, and serves about 13,000 meals per year. Other than the kitchen coordinator, who is paid, the staff for the soup kitchen is all volunteers.
The center also operates what Penman calls the West End Food Bank, which is actually a food pantry.
"They supply around 80 families per month with food," he said.
In addition to the programs offered through the center, there are support groups that use the facilities, and the YMCA runs a summer day camp using space at the center.
Pastor Cal Phillips, a retired minister, is the center's outreach liaison.
"We want him to be a relationship builder. We want the people who come here with needs to get their needs satisfied. Some of that is just sitting down with a guy who cares, who's a pastor. He also reaches out to clubs, organizations and businesses to make it clear to them what we're doing here. We're trying to get the word out," Penman said.
The center runs a program, dubbed the "Barely Moving Program," which loans out canes, wheelchairs, crutches and other equipment for people who have mobility issues. There is also an optical clinic at the center where people who are income qualified can bring in a prescription and obtain eyeglasses at a reduced cost.
Penman said he is often asked what would happen if the center were not there, especially since it closes at holidays in order for volunteers to spend time with their families.
"They're not going to starve because we're not here, but we're here to help take the strain of life off. The majority of people who use our facility are doing okay. They're making it until something happens. That is what we feel is our ministry," he said.
"Prayers are what keep us going. That is my total belief. If we're doing what God wants us to do, He's going to keep us doing it," Penman stressed.