Wesleyan Life - Spring 2009 Back to Wesleyan Life Home

Frackville, PA Church’s Closet Fills Need

By Maria Herne

In a small room in the basement of a local church, those in need are finding help and hope.

Every Saturday morning, the New Hope Wesleyan Church at 32 S. Spencer St. opens its door to the community and provides free clothing, household goods, toys, and food to the needy. “Whoever shows up, whoever needs our help, they’re all welcome here,” said Elfriede Conrad, who, with her assistant, Diane Peters, runs the charitable effort known as the New Hope Clothing Closet.

The Mission

The mission of the clothing closet is simple and direct: Accept from those who are blessed with plenty and have a desire to share with others who don’t.

During the week, people place donations on the church’s front porch. Conrad and Peters spend a few days each week sorting through the boxes and bags and carefully arranging the goods into an orderly display on shelves and clothing racks. “We accept freewill donations—if you can give it; but we never charge for anything we have here, because that’s not what the clothing closet is all about,” she said. “We just want to give help to those who need it most.”

The Need

As the economy gets bleaker, the number of those seeking help at the store each week has risen, according to Tina Brown, the church’s assistant pastor, who along with her husband, Barry, leads the congregation of about sixty.

On a busy day, more than thirty people have arrived at the church seeking some form of sustenance, she said. In addition to the closet, the church hosts a monthly free bread giveaway. “There are so many people out there who are seriously struggling to survive,” Brown said.

“We’re very concerned about the needs of our community. Our ministry believes that we need to serve their hearts and their needs.”

The Provision

Although the shelves have been quite bare when the closet closes on Saturday, somehow they’re replenished by the following week, said Conrad, a firm believer that the Lord works in mysterious ways. “It always seems that when we are out of something—when we have no baby clothes, or when our pantry shelves are bare—that the things we need the most right then will suddenly arrive on our doorstep,” she said. “We’re thankful that we have a lot of angels out there in our community that keep us going.”

— Maria Herne, staff writer. Reprinted with permission from Republican and Herald Newspaper, Pottsville, PA

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