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By John Baker
Harnessing the power of the local church isn’t just a dream; it’s a reality
in Clackamas County.
That’s where Love INC (In the Name of Christ) is currently implementing its
unique mission — bringing churches and the many unique resources
they possess to bear at the issues that keep people struggling in
Clackamas County.
Nearly 50 churches in the county, including several in Canby and Wilsonville,
are involved in Love INC.
“Clients that need help will call into our clearinghouse and we do what’s
called an intake,” explained Betsy Packer of Love INC. “We
listen to them as long as they want to talk.
“We try to listen around the edges of their issue to see about other needs
they may have beyond that. We want to see what we can do to bless them in
some way.”
From clothing to furniture to repair to a myriad of other potential needs,
Love INC draws on the local churches to help fill in the gap when people
are in need.
“We try to match them up with some kind of service or volunteer that may be
able to do something for them,” said Packer. “Before we do
that, however, we verify everything through their caseworker, landlord,
family and relatives — someone who can say ‘yes, this is
real.’
“Folks come to us either by case worker (social services), through a church or they
can self-refer,” she added. “Word of mouth is a big
help.”
What Love INC provides doesn’t go unnoticed
“I know that our relationship with them is highly valued by our agency
workers,” said Vicki of the Clackamas County Department of Human Resources.
“They have helped
change lives. We’ve been working with the faith community for quite
a while.”
Love INC, which is headquartered in a church in Oregon City, deals with about
20 people a week.
Its presence in Canby extends to Zoar Lutheran,
Bethany Baptist and Canby United Methodist Church. All provide components
and resources that Love INC has drawn on in the past. They also have a
couple churches involved in the Wilsonville area — Southlake
Community Church and Stafford Baptist.
“We rent space at the Canby Center for used furniture,” said Packer.
“Truthfully, the primary needs are the basics — beds,
dressers, pots, pans, that sort of thing. We’re dealing with people
who are starting over with nothing, be it through domestic violence or
someone who’s been homeless who just got into housing or a foster
family taking in more children.”
“The work they do is huge,” said Pearse, who
works mostly with families with children or children in foster care at
DHS. “There are resources we can’t get any other way. If we
have a child going into foster care and we need a bunk bed, we call Love
INC; if we need some furniture, we call Love INC; if we have a brand new
baby and having nothing for them, we call Love INC.
“There’s so much to do and we meet quarterly with representatives of Love INC and
talk about what kind of unmet needs we have and what kind of resources
they might be able to bring to that need,” added Pearse. “So often there are things the people
or children wouldn’t have without Love INC.”
How it started
The concept for Love INC. had its genesis in 2003.
A national organization that used to be World Vision’s domestic
partner, there are currently 130 Love INCs
across America. The Clackamas County chapter is one of six in Oregon.
“It took us a while to get going,” said Packer, “and although
we’re an affiliate of the national program, we are our own
nonprofit.”
To get started, Love INC had to start with six churches of six different
Christian denominations.
“It can’t be just one church’s opinion,” said Packer.
“We opened our office on Valentine’s Day 2005. The model is
to have a central phone-in clearing house — just a bank of phones
— and partner with area churches.
The mission is to mobilize the church in Clackamas County to transform lives
and communities “In the Name of Christ.”
Love INC’s vision is to be accessible to the poor
and the needy throughout the county, and well-known and respected by the
agencies, churches and communities that serve them. The partner churches
and their congregations will address local community needs through Love
INC. These churches are the backbone of this ministry.
The organization strives to provide excellent volunteer management and to
operate with the most effective staff and facilities. They define success
by the quality of life transformations that occur. We do all that we do
with respect and in love.
The rewards
Canby has seen its share of success stories through Love INC.
Packer recounted one such story, “A woman in Canby went to Bethany Church
and was having trouble with her car. They helped her find a car and then
didn’t hear from her again for about a year. She came back and told
them that she was now living in her car. She’d been evicted.
“Bethany got hold of us and we managed to help her,” said Packer. “We
found a place for her to do her laundry. A volunteer gave her a haircut.
We connected her with some attorneys to work on her SSI request. She kept
going back to the woman who’d given her a haircut — a vital
relationship had formed. Last we’d heard, she had gotten a job and
was doing better. It all started in Canby when she went to Bethany for
help.”
What they can offer
The array of skills, services and ministries Love INC can bring to an issue
is impressive — and diverse.
There’s a firewood ministry at one church, a bicycle ministry at another and
Canby’s Zoar Lutheran offers a furniture
and household items ministry.
“People call in if they want to donate and we arrange for it to get there,”
said Packer. “Volunteers from Zoar staff
that warehouse and have volunteer partners from Canby United Methodist.
How it works is that when we see a need, we send them a voucher and the
client picks it up on the second or fourth Saturday mornings of the
month. We like the client to do as much for themselves
as they can, but if they can’t pick it up, we have volunteers who
will transport it.”
Another church specializes in baby gear — cribs, high chairs, strollers and
the like.
Love INC also has business partnerships that it can call on. B&B Leasing,
which serves a good portion of the county, including Molalla, often helps
the organization with large pickups and deliveries.
A recent example was a donation of 40 beds from LaQuinta
Inns that they wanted out of hotels immediately.
“At 7 a.m., B&B showed up with three huge trucks and some employees who
were part of a service project and they helped load the beds on to the
trucks and unload them in Canby,” said Packer. “They’ve
also helped us load firewood.”
Love INC just approved a two-year strategic plan that calls for expanding to 90
churches in Clackamas County.
“We would like to do more of what we call relational ministry —
teaching life skills,” said Packer. “We just reorganized our
staff, too.”
For anyone who’d like to get involved with volunteering for Love INC,
particularly with hands-on projects like home repairs, call 503-655-4223.
To donate funds, call the same number.
For more information or to donate, go to the Web site at
www.clackamasloveinc.org.
Reprinted with permission of "The Canby Herald."
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