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June 25, 2009

Building blocks

10 Presbyterian churches construct houses, relationships in Fort Collins

by Toni Montgomery
Special to Presbyterian News Service

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories about congregations engaged in significant outreach and evangelism ministries, reflecting the General Assembly’s commitment to “Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide.” ― Jerry L. Van Marter

The walls go up on the Habitat house being constructed by PresBuild volunteers in Fort Collins, CO.

STATESVILLE, NC — One church doing community outreach by working with Habitat for Humanity is not all that unusual, but 10 churches joining together to share in the project is surely out of the ordinary. 

“PresBuild” in Fort Collins, CO, is a joint effort between the 10 Presbyterian churches in the area that aims to build homes for deserving local families as well as assist Habitat for Humanity on both the local and international levels. 

The partnership is an example of how it’s still possible to help others even in challenging times, in keeping with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly’s commitment to “Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide” by reaching out into churches’ communities. 

While all of the churches involved in PresBuild are Presbyterian, they are not all PC(USA), so the effort also shows how differences can be put aside to work toward a common goal of strenghtening the community.

First Presbyterian Church of Fort Collins — a member of the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks — started the ball rolling. The church had participated in a Habitat build in 2005 and had money left over from that project that it wanted to use toward another home, but there wasn’t enough to do it alone. 

Dale Preston of First Church approached Bob Vangermeersch, a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, with the idea of working together on the program. Together, they decided to approach other churches in the area to enlist their help as well.

The overall project goal was to raise $100,000 for the new home plus $10,000 to go to Habitat International, the branch of the organization that works to build homes in developing countries.

But Preston and Vangermeersch made it clear to the churches they approached that financial participation, while welcome, was not necessary.

“We told them we didn’t need money if they didn’t feel comfortable asking for contributions,” Preston said. “We told them all we really needed was for them to send a volunteer to the meetings and to sponsor one work day to provide lunch.”

PresBuild volunteers take a break for lunch in the driveway of the Habitat home they’re building in Fort Collins, CO.

Preston and Vangermeersch succeeded in getting all 10 of the Presbyterian churches in Fort Collins to participate. Some immediately agreed to raise funds, but even those that didn’t found that their members were willing and eager to donate. PresBuild easily raised the money pledged for the project.

“What we really wanted was the volunteers, and we got plenty of those,” Preston said.

Construction on the home started in March with a “Blitz Build” — a head-on approach that project manager Bob Hand called “organized chaos.” Workers prepared the foundation and floor prior to the work weekend, and with the help of more than 80 enthusiastic volunteers, the one-day blitz produced exterior walls, roof trusses and second-level flooring. 

The project included many with little construction experience. Volunteers were divided into teams that combined experienced workers with people with some or no skills.

“We want people to learn and to enjoy the process,” Hand said. “And they learn fast.” 

Jim Fischer of First Presbyterian, one of the regular volunteer workers on the project, was one of those who learned everything on the job site.

“I got my carpentry experience working on the Habitat house that First Presbyterian sponsored in 2005,” he said. “Then I worked on my basement and deck at home. You pick up tricks along the way.”

Among those volunteers on site, the future owner of the home — Teresa Greene — can be found working as well. She visits the work site often along with her two grandchildren, Garrett and Tabri. Teresa is a widowed grandmother who adopted her two grandchildren in 2007 when her daughter became unable to care for them. 

“I want the children to grow up in a stable, permanent home in a safe neighborhood,” she said. “And it will be wonderful when each of them can have a bedroom of their own. Habitat is the only way that I could afford a house and a house payment.”

Teresa will pay a mortgage to Habitat for her new home and will also contribute 300 hours of “sweat equity,” a requirement for all prospective Habitat homeowners. Some of this time will be spent helping to build her home as well as providing food for project volunteers, attending classes in personal finance and working with her mentor. 

She has also visited each of the 10 churches participating in PresBuild to speak briefly during worship services, giving the project a personal touch.

Volunteers on site now know Teresa and the children well. Garrett has been taken under the wing of several of the workers on site.

The house where Teresa Green and her grandchildren will live takes shape, thanks to volunteers from 10 Presbyterian congregations in Fort Collins, CO. Photos by Bill Hunt, La Porte Presbyterian Church

“Two of our regular volunteers, Eric and Brac, took time to work with Garrett and teach him now to swing a hammer and make the headers for the garage doors,” said Cathie Waugh, Fort Collins Habitat development director. “They showed him how to drive a nail in with force as well as take a nail out when it goes in crooked. Thanks to our volunteers’ mentoring, he got to share in the ownership of working on his home.” 

“It is overwhelming to know that hundreds of people are coming together to help us have a home of our own. To say ‘thank you’ is so … much deeper,” said Teresa Greene. “I don’t have words to describe how grateful I am. I am blessed.”

The volunteers from the 10 churches participating in PresBuild feel they are blessed as well for what they’ve gained by building the home, which is scheduled to be completed and dedicated on July 26. 

While sharing a driveway lunch break recently, Waugh summed it up: “We enjoyed warm fellowship, laughs and a sense of true belonging — all over a simple sandwich and a bowl of soup,” she said. “We realized once again that Habitat is about building homes, but more importantly, it is about building community, family and a sense of importance and self-worth.”

Toni Montgomery is a free-lance writer in Statesville, NC, where she is also church secretary for First Presbyterian Church of Statesville.