April 2017
By Jackie Bussert
Open doors in the former school facility of St. John Lutheran Church, in Forest Park, Illinois, saw hundreds of moms, babies and grandmas swarm in during the March 14-15 consignment sale held by Parenthesis Family Center.
This nonprofit group has worked in neighboring towns for 36 years, providing parent education and family services for teens, single moms, new move-ins and others overwhelmed by the new demands of motherhood.
Their twice-a-year sale ($22,000 this sale) features everything imaginable for babies, toddlers and maternity needs, and helps them provide their services free. St. John has hosted them for four years. The sale fills the gym and three classrooms in their school building, which became vacant when Walther Academy moved out in 2013. Their own St. John Lutheran School disbanded in 2007 and Walther moved in.
Welcoming Parenthesis is just one new touchpoint of many the congregation is seeking out, to connect with the community and then build on those touchpoints, said Lori Payton, St. John member who intentionally became a volunteer for the sale to enhance the touchpoint.
“We want to see the community using the building; it builds good will in this age of suspicion about the Church,” she said. “But we also look for ways to intentionally connect with the people coming here.”
One example of that took place when Payton’s Thursday Bible class decided to provide snacks for the Parenthesis volunteers who were setting up in the week before the sale.
“They wanted me to take the food they brought up to the sale rooms,” Payton recalls. “I said: No, we’re taking a field trip and all presenting the snacks and meeting the people.”
“We’re trying to see what will be the next chapter for the church,” said Payton. “We’re all seeking how we can use our resources to serve the community.”
St. John first explored starting a new preschool but found that meeting state regulations would require a “temendous” amount of money, Payton said. An area YMCA has used the school for summer programs, while another organization uses the kitchen for children’s free lunches. Community scout groups are welcomed, and a community choir rehearses there. The Forest Park Community Garden sponsors an annual seed swap, which ties in nicely to St. John’s own community garden onsite.
In the meantime? “We’re still cleaning out many school supplies to give away to meet local needs,” Payton said, ending the conversation as a home school family arrived to pick up some books.