Building a home
Area clergymen pitch in at Habitat house in Fort DodgeBy JESSE HELLING, Messenger staff writer
Article Photos
Local men of the cloth became men of the paint brush and hammer Tuesday.
Clergymen from several area churches lent a hand to Webster/Humboldt County Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers worked at habitat's North Ninth Street house in Fort Dodge, which will become home for Andrea Jondle and her four children upon completion.
The idea for the work day came out of discussions among the local Interfaith Forum, said the Rev. Phil Somsen, coordinator of spiritual care at Trinity Regional Medical Center.
"A few of us started talking," said Somsen, who is also a member of Habitat's board of directors.
Eventually, a date was worked out, he said.
Volunteers spent Tuesday morning and afternoon painting, installing ceiling fans and laying laminate flooring.
Habitat hopes to have the house completed by April or May, Somsen said.
"We always want to make sure that volunteers have a positive experience," he said. "Our hope is that these pastors will go back to their churches and encourage others to volunteer."
Several churches already send contingents of workers to Habitat houses.
"We were just here Saturday, helping at this house," said the Rev. Mike Carmody, lead pastor of New Covenant Christian Church in Fort Dodge.
A group of seven members of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Fort Dodge recently did work in the house, said the Rev. Jim Meadows, who joined Tuesday's effort.
Meadows said he first became acquainted with Habitat for Humanity while living in Arizona.
"We worked with them there," he said.
The Rev. Bob Henkelman, pastor of Hope Assembly of God in Fort Dodge, is a relative newcomer to town.
"I've been wanting to get more involved in the community," said Henkelman, who spent part of Tuesday putting flooring in the attic of the house. "I thought I'd check it out."
The Rev. Dennis Shepherd said he has seen Habitat's benefit to families first-hand.
"I have a relative who has a habitat home in Boone," said Shepherd, who serves the United Methodist churches of Otho, Lehigh, Boxholm and Pilot Mound. "It's been a blessing to him and his family."
Somsen also got involved with the organization after seeing the positive effects of a Habitat home built across the street from his own house in the fall of 2007.
Eventually, Somsen became that family's Habitat mentor.
"All of our partner families have a mentor assigned to them to help make sure they can be successful," he said.
Families pay for their Habitat homes through a no-interest loan. Each family also puts "sweat equity" into the house by working in some capacity for the local chapter.
"The great thing is that there is such a variety of projects that need doing," Somsen said. "Anyone can provide valuable service."
Contact Jesse Helling at (515) 573-2141 or jhelling@messengernews.net
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BobJohnson
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03-04-09 8:44 PM
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Hi Kelli
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kellibrown
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03-04-09 7:28 PM
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hello
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