Lutherans mission society rolls through Calvert

Friday, July 18, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by DARWIN WEIGEL Above, Volunteers Nancy Barns, left, of Lothian and Anna Richnafsky of Lusby, both members of First Lutheran Church in Huntingtown, sort clothing Wednesday in the Lutheran Mission Society’s Southern Maryland Mobile Compassion Center. The tractor-trailer rig was at First Lutheran for three days. Left, Alice Adams of Waldorf, Barns and Richnafsky pose with the Lutheran Mission Society’s Southern Maryland Mobile Compassion Center. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo

The tractor trailer rig, located in the parking lot of First Lutheran Church in Huntingtown, holds clothing, toys and features an altar for people to pray.

The Lutheran Mission Society, located in Baltimore, has eight compassion centers, but the one that comes to Calvert and other counties is the only one that is mobile. The center also doubles as a disaster relief unit according to Alan Amrhine, the director of communications for the society.

‘‘The center rotates between five different churches and four different counties in the Southern Maryland area,” said Amrhine of Baltimore. ‘‘It’s only open a few days per week in each area.”

The mobile compassion center started four years ago. The society had to find a used trailer and fix it to fit their needs. The other centers are located in urban areas with a high volume of traffic.

‘‘We do these centers to help people in need, with food and clothing,” Amrhine said. ‘‘People can come and receive those things free of charge. We also accept small donations.”

There are volunteers and one paid staff member that run the mobile center in Huntingtown. Originally started in Grace Lutheran Church in La Plata, the center has been coming to Calvert since April.

Alice Adams of Waldorf is the only paid employee for the center. She helped to start the idea of the mobile center when she was attending Grace Lutheran in La Plata.

‘‘About four years ago, we decided that we should have a thrift store,” Adams said. ‘‘Our pastor told us to call the Lutheran Mission Society.”

The society came down to meet with them to find a location for the store, but quickly discovered that real estate is expensive. While driving around the county with the director, an idea came up.

‘‘The director noted there were a lot of miles and said that if we couldn’t bring people to the center, we could bring the center to people,” Adams said. ‘‘That’s how the mobile issue got started.”

They soon found a trailer rig and completely gutted the inside. Volunteers worked every Saturday for eight months to completely fix the trailer, including painting the outside.

‘‘We could not do this without our volunteers,” Adams said.

Volunteer coordinator Anna Richnafsky of Lusby is a member of First Lutheran Church. She oversees the coordination of the schedule for the volunteers.

‘‘We try to have at least two volunteers here every day,” Richnafsky said. ‘‘We had about 12 sign up, which I try to spread out over the three days.”

Richnafsky and her volunteers go through the clothes to make sure they are in good condition, folded and hung them in the proper places. Winter items and food are housed at the church. When the bus gets ready to go to its next stop, the volunteers make sure that everything is strapped and stored in its proper place.

The Lutheran Mission Society has been around for more than 100 years and originally started out helping immigrants get adjusted to their surroundings. It eventually became involved with institutional ministries like children’s hospitals. In the mid-1960s, the center idea was born.

‘‘In addition to helping people with their physical needs, we also want to help them with their spiritual needs,” Amrhine said. ‘‘We want to help people in all aspects of their lives.”

The other compassion centers are located in Annapolis, Cambridge, Essex, Fells Point, Havre de Grace and York, Pa.