Affordable housing is one of the greatest needs in Bloomington/Normal. Calvary may not be able to resolve this problem on our own, but we can partner with others to make a difference…one family at a time.
That is just what we’re doing with other United Methodist Churches in Bloomington/Normal this spring/summer/fall. We will be working together on a Habitat for Humanity ‘Beloved’ Build (see last week’s Who Is My Neighbor for an explanation of that designation). The house we will build will be located at 806 S. Madison in Bloomington. It is a narrow lot, so it will be a two story home.
The home owners are Kia and Georgia Griffin. This is the bio information provided by Habitat for Humanity:
Kia is originally from Bloomington, moved away for a short time and has been
back for 18 years. Kia has one daughter, Georgia and she is 8 years old.
Kia is employed at Jack Lewis Jewelers and has worked there for 5 years. .
Kia enjoys listening to music, reading and horseback riding. Georgia also enjoys ice skating, music, reading, and “Girls in the Game”. Also, Georgia is in Girl Scouts and Kia is the Scout leader.
The family attends St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Bloomington.
The family is very excited about the upcoming build season. Kia says, “I love the idea of helping to build my own home, learning how it all comes together. I couldn’t be more inspired by the program and by the volunteers who come to assist. We are so thankful to God and to Habitat for this opportunity.”
In addition to those of you who will volunteer to help build this house on Saturdays, this year we will gather with our brothers and sisters from Wesley and Normal First United Methodist Churches to build the frames for the walls of this house. This will take place on May 19th from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in one of the parking lots of our churches (we’ll let you know the location as soon as we have that information). The great thing for wall builds is that there can be more people involved, younger folks can participate, and we can get to know brothers and sisters in the other churches.
If you are retired, there is a special opportunity for you to serve during the week. Every Tuesday and Thursday, retirees meet at the Habitat ReStore at 7:30 a.m. where they are given projects from the various Habitat Builds in the area. This is a great way to serve as well as meet other folks.
Finally, there are volunteer opportunities at Habitat’s ReStore at 1402 W. Washington in Bloomington. The ReStore not only provides lower priced used products for people in the area (not just Habitat folks), but the profits from the ReStore go back into the Habitat Builds to make it possible to purchase land for future houses.
Habitat for Humanity: a great way to love our neighbors!
About the Author
Debbie Reese is the Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC