Helping hands build church addition
RATHDRUM - Helping hands will soon double the size of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Rathdrum. A building committee has been working on plans for a year, church members have signed up for thousands of volunteer hours and members of Laborers for Christ began arriving last week to help out.
Pastor Neil D. Bloom officiated at a groundbreaking ceremony last Sunday for the renovation and addition that will nearly double the building’s size, according to Betty Slusher, a member of the planning committee. “We’re adding extensions on both sides of the sanctuary that will provide additional seating for 84 people,” she said. Other improvements include the installation of a lift for handicapped accessibility to the second floor, and an upstairs bathroom and a bride’s room that will double as a choir room.
A large addition to the rear of the building will include an all-purpose room and several new classrooms; and improvements to the kitchen area and the pastor’s study are also included in the project expected to be completed sometime in November.
Continued growth of the congregation made these upgrades necessary, according to Slusher. The congregation numbered 86 when the original building was built in 1983 and numbers around 250 today. “We’ve outgrown our sanctuary, and we push the walls out each year during the Christmas Community Sing,” she said.
Once the building committee had plans and financing in place, they contacted Laborers for Christ, a group of workers who come from all over the United States to help with the construction of church-related facilities. The workers are paid minimum wages for their work, which helps cut the cost of the project, usually by about 10 percent. Most of the workers are retired folks who live in their RVs onsite until the completion of the project.
Since 1992, Laborers for Christ has helped more than 700 congregations with renovation and building projects. Project Manager Willie Eichmann and his wife Eleanor arrived in their RV from the Black Hills of South Dakota. This is their seventh project, and Eichmann is looking forward to the project of spending the next few months in Rathdrum. “We’re just really excited to be here. Of all the spots in the United States, you couldn’t ask for anything nicer – it’s beautiful here,” he said.
The day begins for the workers with a prayer and briefing at 7 a.m. that includes work assignments, according to Eichmann. Ladies of the church provide a snack at 9:30 and following morning devotions, it’s back to work until their lunch break. The day ends at 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
“We do most everything,” says Eichmann. “We plan on the subcontractors to do the cement work, and the work requiring a license – like the electrical, plumbing and heating and air conditioning – we do everything else.”
The laborers work on Saturday so they can join forces with volunteers from the church. Members of the congregation answered the call for volunteers eagerly and have already signed up for more than 3,700 hours.
Eichmann too is excited with the amount of volunteer sweat equity that is going into this project. “The congregation is well organized and they’ve got a tremendous volunteer list. This isn’t a real plush type of a congregation, but the people in it are willing to do just anything – and there is a lot of good workable talent in there – the dirt man, the cement contractor and the electrician are all members of the congregation. In fact the only thing they don’t have is a plumber.”
Most of the Laborers for Christ workers spend their leisure time checking out the community and sightseeing. Some ride their bicycles, some like to go fishing; one member of the group just bought a kayak and plans to check out some of the local waters.
Part of the mission and enjoyment of being a Laborer for Christ is taking part in the activities of the congregation of the churches they are working for. “We join in on the church activities, when they have Bible class, we attend that. When they fire up their choir, we are there,” Eichmann said.
Rosemary and Olaf Thingvall, full-time RVers from Oregon, agree with Eichmann. They work on one project each year, spending four to seven months of their time working on building projects. “It’s a real blessing,” said Rosemary. “We’re full-time RVers, so we don’t have a regular congregation we attend. So, we really enjoy working together with the people and becoming part of their congregation.”
“We really enjoy it,” added Olaf.
Eichmann sees his labor the same way. “Personally, we are the greatest recipients. We feel that we get blessed more than anyone. It’s a chance to get to meet new people, and do a ministry with them. We just touch a lot of people’s lives wherever we go.”