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“The Church that Never Sleeps” Helps Meet Needs

Grace Lutheran Church is known as the church that never sleeps...

“Our church has always been very community service-focused,” explained John O’Neal, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Washington. “In fact, we’re known as “the church that never sleeps.” We have a homeless shelter, we’re active in KidREACH, we work with other nearby shelters and the local foodbank, and we host several 12-step programs.

“But we’ve never undertaken anything as huge – or hugely successful – as Faith in Action Day,” he added. Out of a church with an average attendance of 700 any given Sunday, more than 600 participants showed up to help in the long list of projects the church undertook.

Some projects were local in Des Moines, a city of 29,000 perched on Interstate 5 midway between Seattle and Tacoma. Other activities were centered in nearby cities and downtown Seattle.

Through contacts with the City, the church’s FIA project coordinator uncovered 20 families that needed help. Work ranged from building a wheelchair ramp at one home, to yard clean-up and hauling away truckloads of debris at several other homes, to replacing windows and a sliding glass door at another home. “We also worked at that home to get their electricity turned back on, because it had been off for more than three months,” Pastor O’Neal said. One grateful resident exclaimed, “I can’t believe all these people came to help me – and I don’t even go to their church.”

One team worked with the local Des Moines food bank to re-package bulk items, while another group worked with Northwest Harvest, which gathers and distributes items to food banks throughout the state of Washington.

Church members filled backpacks with school items for needy children, both in Des Moines and for Lutheran World Relief for worldwide distribution. Other groups divided their time among the Hospitality House, a women’s shelter in nearby Burien, and a low-income apartment complex and two other shelters in downtown Seattle. They performed basic maintenance, cleaning and painting, and they also built shelves, cabinets and a computer desk.

“At the Hospitality House, one of our members who’s celebrated 13 years as a recovering alcoholic quickly spotted women who were struggling with chemical dependency, and she began working with them on the spot,” said Pastor O’Neal. “She’s continuing to work with them to develop a long-lasting relationship.”

Their largest project was Des Moines Creek Park, a three-mile-long city park stretching from the Puget Sound waterfront into dowtown. Teams there cleaned up the grounds and planted a total of 700 trees. “In the past, we’ve been lucky to get five volunteers,” said a City park official, “but you guys brought 100! Can we do this again next year?”

Grace Lutheran’s youth group held a city-wide soccer clinic on Sunday. It was a great way to get the youth involved in serving the community.

“Would we do it again? You bet!” exclaimed Pastor O’Neal. “Our people are still talking about how terrific it was and what an impact it made on them. We had set a goal to raise $7,000 to help cover expenses – and instead we raised $11,000.”

“Local ministry is part of our DNA – it’s where our heart is. In fact, we’re talking about holding a Faith in Action day every year,” he concluded.