Larry Nugent delivers furniture and house- hold goods to Felicia (last name withheld) and her son, A.J., through New Start, a ministry of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Glenshaw, Pa. The ministry collects and distributes house- hold items at no cost to those who need it.
by this one person’s decision to donate,” said Barbara, adding that she hopes other churches consider starting something similar. Other community churches con-
tribute items to New Start as well. “T e other part of our story is
to put on the ground to keep the cold air from coming up. We also gave them pillows and blankets, and delivered some to shelter organiza- tions and camps,” Barbara said. She called it a blessing during the extremely cold winter weather.
Useful retirement Larry uses his pickup truck to get items, bring them to the church’s storage facility and then deliver them. “T is is what God wants me to be
doing,” said the retired draſt sman. T e ministry routinely donates
the items it receives to those in need through organizations such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill and veterans groups. At any given time the New Start
storage space might include dress- ers, kitchen tables and chairs, beds and upholstered furniture. T e monthly $350 rent on its leased garage space is paid this year through an ELCA Foundation grant. T e New Start ministry began
when Bethlehem’s pastor at the time (1999) was mentoring at a men’s shelter and saw the need for house- hold items. Members donated items to get New Start off the ground. Larry took over coordination of the ministry in 2012. “Our hope in getting this story
July 2015 33
out there is that other hotels would consider donating to help oth- ers. We found out that hotels cycle through stock every three to fi ve years. All of the items are top qual- ity, and so many people were blessed
Felicia’s family was a recent benefi ciary of goods from a hotel that changed its décor— couch, dining room table, beds, lamps and small appliances.
that if our synod had not allowed us to use the space they had avail- able, this could have never hap- pened. I don’t know what God’s purpose was for this event, but I know he has a plan.”
Author bio: Healy is a writer and member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Brewster, N.Y.
ERIKA GIDLEY
FOUR PHOTOS: ERIKA GIDLEY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52