Two months out
No job too big, no job too small In D.C., Reformation Lutheran ‘reforms’ homes each spring
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Although children under age 14 aren’t allowed on Rebuilding Together sites, these young Ref- ormation Lutheran members were able to con- tribute to the D.C. church’s efforts to maintain neighborhood homes.
n Washington, D.C., “Christmas” arrives on the last Saturday of April. In fact, “Rebuilding Together” used to be called Christmas in April. Each year some 15 to 40 members of Reformation Lutheran Church gather to revitalize low-income homes in the nation’s capital.
They’ve been
doing this for 20 years through Rebuilding Together, which has
affiliates all over the country. Nationwide, the organization repairs 10,000 homes a year. In D.C., about 100 houses are repaired annually. To be eligible for the “Safe at Home” program, homeowners must be low income and elderly and/or disabled, veterans or families with young children.
Repairs are free to the homeowners but not “free” to accomplish, said Janice T. Stango, executive director of Rebuilding Together of Washington, D.C. (
www.rebuildingtogetherdc.org). Not only are thousands of hours in donated labor necessary, but significant mon- etary donations are needed to purchase building supplies and hire pro- fessionals for roofing, electrical and serious plumbing repairs. “The team from Reformation Lutheran is among our most enthusi- astic supporters,” Stango said. “With their spirit of volunteerism and their financial support we are able to change the lives of a Capitol Hill family each year. Many other churches around our city, too, support us annually. We have a dream that every church in D.C. would do the same—what miracles we could accomplish if that happened.” Members Del Voss and Parry Carlson are the driving force behind Reformation’s effort. The congregation’s crew does small jobs clean- ing up or painting, and larger jobs in which they’ve had to renovate bathrooms or kitchens.
“The whole idea is to allow people to live safely in their homes,”
Voss said. “Maintenance and upkeep [are] too much for some neigh- bors, either because they’re not well enough or they’re on fixed incomes.
Rebuilding Together is helpful in dividing projects into light, medium and heavy categories, Carlson said. Light means trash disposal, cleanup and painting. Medium includes those things and
drywall, light electrical (switches and recep- tacles) and light plumbing (sinks, faucets and toilets). Heavy could be total renovation of a house. “It’s a life-changing experience for many of us because we don’t often go into the homes of our neighbors who are living in such rough circumstances. This allows us to become part of the neighborhood,” Voss said. On Capitol Hill, Reformation members walk by both million dollar homes and those in desperate need of repair. People just want to be able to stay in their homes and live in dignity, he added.
After 20 years of projects, Voss has suc- cess stories galore, but a recent one included helping a single mother with multiple scle- rosis: “We installed stair-rails, fixed broken windows, repaired a door that had been kicked in during a burglary and painted her little girls’ rooms pink and purple just because that is what the little girls wanted,” he said.
Carlson’s tips: Doing a house requiring “light” work is a good place for a new congregation to start. Find members who are experienced with renovation; a plan and flexible team captains help.
Good one! Sewing for school
St. Stephen the Martyr
Lutheran Church, Green- dale, Wis., has for the last 10 years sewed school bags for Lutheran World Relief (
www.lwr.org). St. Stephen’s Sunday school children (one shown modeling a bag) help fill them with items the church has collected.
February 2013 41
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