ELCA Women Kick-off Thrift Store Renovation Project

PHILADELPHIA (ELCA) -- About 50 women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) used hammers and scrapers July 11 at a Convention Without Walls session at part of Women of the ELCA Fifth Triennial Gathering here. The women were the first to begin renovation work on a newly purchased building where five ELCA congregations, Lutheran Children and Family Services (LCFS) and the ELCA Southeastern Pennsylvania Synodical Women's Organization are sponsoring the construction of a thrift store in the Olney area.
Women of the ELCA's Triennial Gathering is meeting here July 8-14 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The organization's three-year theme, "Listen, God is Calling," is being unveiled at the convention amid Bible study, keynote addresses, workshops, field trips, business sessions and elections. More than 3,200 women from across the United States and around the world are participating.
Participants were bused from the convention center to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, where they were briefed on the tasks needed to be done at the dilapidated store. After being given special hats, rubber gloves and face masks, the women got to work scraping old paint, hammering and cleaning.
The building itself has an interesting history, said Susan Pursch, vice-president of the Church and Community Partnership, Liberty Lutheran Services, Philadelphia.
"The building used to be a deli, but has been vacant now for 30 years," said Pursch. "We got lucky because the original location for the thrift store fell through, and this one went up for sale just one week ago. The upstairs is an apartment, and the store is on the lower level."
After completing the work, women had a chance to leave their legacies behind in the store, said Pursch. The participants created tags with their names and hometowns on them to put on one of the store's shelves.
The women workers enjoyed being the first team to start renovating the building, according to Joan Onkka, Livonia, Michigan.
"We all like doing our part," said Onkka. "It's a great place to be right now. I can just envision things filling the walls once we are done."
A contractor will take over the renovation process until completion in early fall. The store will be filled with items that local congregations have been collecting. The upstairs apartment will be used as a transition location for families that LCFS places.
The ELCA has a great deal to be proud of with the thrift store, said Keith Anderson, LCFS volunteer coordinator.
"The women are excited about their work here," said Anderson. "It's a long process, but it will be great to see it come to fruition."

Before the second Women of the ELCA executive board business session July 11, it was announced that $5,793.47 in offerings was raised for the renovation of the thrift store.
There are 20 Convention Without Walls experiences designed for women to move beyond the Pennsylvania Convention Center into the surrounding Philadelphia community. Convention Without Walls is offered in three tracks: "Hearing God's Call: Growing in Faith and Wisdom," "Experiencing God's Call: Learning How to Build Healthy Families and Communities," and "Living God's Call: Using Gifts and Skills in Serving to Neighbor."

EDITORS: Photographs from Women of the ELCA's Triennial Gathering are
maintained at
http://www.elca.org/wo/events/tg/tg02/connect/photos.html on the
Internet. News releases and other information about the gathering are
maintained at
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For information contact:
Melissa Ramirez, newsroom manager (215) 418-2045 or mramirez@elca.org

*Amy Wineinger is a junior at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa. This
summer she is an intern with ELCA News and Media Production.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html