News Archives

Congregation discovers simple ways to change children's lives

11/24/2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn.

NOTE: Photos are available. For related coverage, see UMNS story #567.

By Tim Tanton*

LINK: Click to open full size version of image
The children’s council at Vermont Hills United Methodist Church built relationships between the congregation and the children of a nearby school in Portland, Ore. Council members include (from left) Bob and Virginia Ewing; Tani Draper; the Rev. Chuck Cooper; and Barbara Wagner. A UMNS photo by Tim Tanton. Photo number 03-489, Accompanies UMNS #570, 11/24/03
PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS) - The folks at Vermont Hills United Methodist Church made a startling discovery a few years ago.

They learned that their middle- to upper-income neighborhood was home to the second-largest federal housing project in the district. Moreover, 40 percent of the children at Hayhurst Elementary School, a short walk from the church, lived near or under the poverty line.

"There is a real contrast between the haves and the have-nots," says Tani Draper, lay leader and children's council chairperson.

The discovery, she says, was a "shock to us."

The council, formed four years ago in response to the Bishops' Initiative on Children and Poverty, had been assessing needs in the community. Draper and other council members visited the school of about 210 students, and learned that 4 out of 10 children qualified for the free or reduced lunch program.

Vermont Hills mobilized its members, who began paying for school supplies and clothes, helping with field trips, spending time reading with the children and volunteering as "lunch buddies" to provide companionship once a week.

Members Bob and Virginia Ewing became such good buddies with a little girl and her brother that the kids invited the couple to their mother's wedding as their only guests.

Working with the children has been a powerful experience for the Ewings. "I feel like this is very close to being the one thing that vindicates me for being alive," Bob Ewing says.

When the school counselor reported that a child needed shoes, the church provided a new pair the same day. On another occasion, the church quickly replaced a winter coat stolen from a child. "Those are powerful things to do," Draper says.

"The impact of the church on Hayhurst families is significant," says Ray Lapp, counselor at Hayhurst. "In the current time, (when) budgets are cut back, Vermont Hills has stepped up to fill a need that would otherwise have been unmet."

For example, for the last two years, Vermont Hills has paid $200 or $300 to ensure that the school can provide Scholastic News, a weekly reading resource, to all students. The church makes up the shortfall due to low-income families being unable to pay their share, Lapp says.

He describes how the church enabled a boy to play tee ball by paying his fee and providing a baseball glove. "As a result, the boy was able to play ball on a 'real team' with uniforms and baseball caps for the first time," Lapp says. "The impact was huge. This formerly isolated child gained new friends and learned social skills."

Many of the kids live with foster families and must be ready to pack their belongings into a suitcase when it's time to move. The suitcases wear out from repeated use, so Vermont Hills worked with the American Automobile Association to collect luggage that was passed on to a local foster parents' association.

The Vermont Hills members are sensitive to the need for protecting the children's privacy and dignity. That means providing good-quality supplies to the children - items that don't stand out as second-hand giveaways.

"It's a change of attitude in the church," says the Rev. Chuck Cooper, pastor. In the past, members would give away what they no longer wanted, but now they donate new or even handmade items, such as winter hats and scarves knit for the children.

The church is low key about its help. It doesn't attach its name to the work it does nor use its outreach as a way to get new members.

Vermont Hills' ministry to children didn't add to the church's budget. Members felt motivated to give additional money to help the children, and the church also secured some grants through the district office. The church offers a model for how a congregation of any size can transform the lives of children simply by getting members involved.

Cooper advises other churches to go to the nearest school, develop a relationship there and get busy. "We sat here for a long time and we were getting more and more isolated from the community around us," he says.

"It's not about inside here," Draper adds. "It's about out there."
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*Tanton is managing editor for United Methodist News Service.

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