Westport’s been a busy place lately. The resurrection of the Farmers’ Market at the Westport Grange, the Friends’ enormous annual book sale, a Harry Potter extravaganza, rummage sales, the Feast of the Holy Ghost, and the Westport Agricultural Fair to mention a few.
And nearly under the radar, a pretty remarkable event has been going on down at the Point. From Thursday July 19 till Sunday, 56 men, women, and children
who’ve never been to Westport, drove from Moorestown, NJ, to help revitalize the Westport Point United Methodist Church. Their cars have been packed with more tools than beach accessories. They’re on a mission. Literally.
The Point Church, by many accounts, had been slipping. Its membership was getting on in years and its infrastructure was deteriorating. The arrival of Pastor Katherine Mitchell buoyed the spirits of the membership and increased its ranks but the church still needed work. David Madara and his wife Lisa, who re-built a home on Masquesatch Road in 2003, noticed the positive sea change but knew that what needed to be done was beyond the church’s resources.
Ten years ago, they witnessed a similar decline in their own church, the First United Methodist Church in Moorestown, NJ, near where they live in the off-season with their daughters Megan, 15, and Kaitlin, 8. The spark that revitalized their church? “An excellent pastor who supported everyone from the elders to the kids,” Lisa Madara said.
One year ago, Mr. Madara proposed a four-day “Youth to Youth, Church to Church” mission to Pastor Katherine. The plan packaged work, education, and recreation and constituted a community-building link between the two churches. The First United Methodist Church of Moorestown would provide manpower and funding to renovate the Point Church. The local church would provide housing and food for all their guests. Pastor Katherine agreed.
The caravan from New Jersey hit town Wednesday night and was welcomed by their host families. Following a church service and an orientation on Thursday morning, Shelli Perry of the Westport River Watershed Alliance gave the teenagers an talk about the local eco-system and how it’s being preserved, then led them to trails to clear at Cherry and Webb Beach. It was free time for all at Horseneck Beach after the work then a BBQ at the home of Gay and Chip Gillespie.
The whole group took a ferry from Wood’s Hole to Oak Bluffs on Friday to see the Camp Meeting Grounds, hear the history of the camp, see the famous gingerbread architecture surrounding the grounds, and return for an ice cream social at Howland Hall.
Saturday the heavy lifting began at 9 a.m. Adults and dozens of teenage girls and boys spent hours digging out turf surrounding the church to create colorful flowerbeds, Locals smiled as visiting teenagers marveled at how many rocks they dug up while planting. By afternoon, three sides of the church were surrounded with mulched shrubs and flowers.
Inside, a crew spent the day unscrewing the pews in the sanctuary and applying two coats of brown paint to the floor. A crew of men and boys replaced the rear exit stairs leading out of Howland Hall. Another group hauled gravel to fill the long culvert that had been dug on the north side after it had been re-graded to keep water from saturating the foundation there.
“We’ll have immediate beauty with the landscaping and long term maintenance resolution with the drainage culverts we dug on the north side of the church,” Mr. Madara said as he circled the church again and again, answering questions and exhorting the troops.
Other groups ventured to Charlotte Fitch’s house on Cape Bial Lane and the Parsonage on Main Road to clear brush and do some planting and garden maintenance.
“I’m amazed that so many people would come up here from New Jersey to help people they’ve never met. People talk about the Christian thing to do but these people from the First United Methodist Church are doing it,” Sarah LaVallley said as she watered the newly planted greenery and watched the goings-on.
The First United Methodist Church and the Westport Point United Methodist Church are part of the nationwide Methodist community.
“We hope this is the beginning of a longer relationship and more trips here in the future,” Moorestown Director of Youth and Outreach Brad Kenney said.
The seventh grade to high school teenagers were impressively involved.
“I came with my dad. At first I was hesitant to come. It’s the first time I volunteered to go so far away to do mission work. I’ve had fun doing the work and having time to explore the lay of the land on my own and I know it helps the community,” 18 year old Tim Schlindwein said.
David and Lisa Madara look at the project as groundwork for the future. “We intend to settle in our house on Masquesatch Road when we retire. so we’re digging our roots in now,” Mr. Madara said.
“And we want to inspire our kids by our own example,” adds Mrs. Madara.
Inspiring! Thanks, PT, for letting us know the good news we don't hear much about.
Posted by: Susaan Straus | August 10, 2007 at 08:06 AM
Sent this on to other Methodist friends. The foodie article was very tasty too.
Posted by: Carolyn Liesy | August 12, 2007 at 12:07 AM