Mike Bembas, the Postmaster of Algonac, Mich. and a member of the City Council, knows a lot of people in the community and notices their needs. One thing he observed was that people who are going through rough times don’t have money to buy clothes—which may hinder their chances of getting a job.
Gail Anthony was “away from any type of church” for 35 years while raising her family. Then she moved to Algonac to be closer to her daughter and family. But once she finished moving and setting up her new place, she was out of money. Until her next Social Security check arrived, she had to rely on the food pantry at the local Methodist Church. There she met a member of First Lutheran, who told her about the free dinner offered by the church every third Wednesday. She decided to go but brought a book along, in case no one talked with her. She describes what happened: “I walked in the door and this funny little man, our former pastor, greeted me at the door and wouldn’t leave me alone! But I felt welcomed and I felt at home here. And I’ve been here ever since.” Gail, now the church secretary at First Lutheran, is also a member of the Algonac City Council.
How it All Began
Rev. John Greig became the new pastor of First Lutheran in 2022 and immediately started asking about community needs. As a way to get to know the community, he started meeting with City Council members on Wednesdays for coffee. In one of those meetings, Mike and Gail brought up the need for a clothing bank, since there was nothing like that in town after the Lion’s Club closed its Goodwill store. Mike and his coworker Michelle Landry (who happens to be Gail’s daughter) had already started collecting clothes.
The church offered its fellowship hall as a space to hold the clothing bank, which opened in early 2023. Clothes, shoes, and accessories for men, women, and children are available for free, no questions asked. In the beginning, Mike, Michelle, Gail, and other volunteers would line up boxes of clothes on the tables in the fellowship hall, only to take them all back into storage afterwards. After some time, the church offered the empty parsonage space next door. The volunteers raised money for equipment such as racks and shelves and got to work setting up a welcoming, permanent home for the clothing bank, which is open every Monday from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. and every 3rd Wednesday from 5–7 p.m. After a few months, they noticed the need for diapers for infants and disposable briefs for adults. They held a fundraiser and are now able to serve all ages. Sarah Wetzel manages the diaper/brief bank, which opened July 1 of this year. (Click here for a local newspaper article from June 19 about the diaper bank).
The bank is a success. They get 10–15 “shoppers” per week, and another 10–15 people come to drop off donations every time the bank is open. The volunteers sort everything, and items that
can’t be used by the bank are donated elsewhere—e.g., suits were donated to a charity that helps people get ready for their job interviews. They also partner with the St. Clair County Community Mental Health as well as the center that offers services for victims of domestic violence. If those entities see a client there who has a need, they send them to the clothing bank so they can shop with no questions asked.
Connections
Some people started coming to shop for clothes, then donating, then volunteering, and now they’re members of the church. Mike himself wasn’t a member of the church when he started the clothing bank. He says, “I found the church just having coffee with Gail. Next thing you know, we got a coffee club going on Wednesdays. From there, talking to the pastor and, next thing you know, I’m in the church! It’s that synergy of ‘who are you reaching today?’ Somebody reached Gail [at the food bank], Gail reached me, and maybe we’re reaching other people. I know we have other people now joining. So it’s just a matter of how one person can touch another.”
According to Mike, the clothing bank offers a great opportunity for connection, as people who come to shop feel very comfortable and love to share their stories with the volunteers. (There is always coffee and cookies available, and people are always welcome to come, even if they don’t need clothes/diapers). They were able to hear the stories and help people such as a grandmother who had her grandchildren dropped off on her front step with just the clothes on their backs. Or the elderly lady who was kicked out of the house by her husband and didn’t even have undergarments to wear (miraculously, the bank could help her, even though they don’t usually keep underwear in stock). Another elderly lady came that suffers from incontinence and couldn’t afford disposable briefs, so she was sitting on towels; the bank was able to get her adult briefs at no cost.
More Connections
For the past 14 years (with the exception of 2020), First Lutheran has held a community dinner on the third Wednesday of the month—free for anyone who wants to come. They get about 80-100 people a month. The clothing bank is open at that time as well.
The church also partners with community events such as “Touch a Truck” and Halloween by having a table with coloring pages or a game of “feed candy to the monster” with a slingshot. Pastor Greig and the church have been creative in finding ways to spread the Gospel by showing love to the community, and the community is taking notice. Case in point: The menu for one of the church’s monthly dinners was pizza—but all the pizza was donated by local restaurants and even individuals. They served 159 meals that day, and the church didn’t have to spend a dime.
Another outreach is the Thanksgiving dinner at First Lutheran, which is always the Wednesday before Thanksgiving week. They typically have close to 250-300 people attending. They serve turkey, ham, “the whole spread,” Gail says. “The whole city comes to that. Church members make the desserts, and even members of other churches help with the dessert.”
A newer initiative to serve the community is a job fair. They held one in conjunction with the Post Office, and officials were impressed with how many people came to sign up. Plans are to set up a job fair every quarter and eventually have it be a permanent “job bank” to help people towards independence.
Mike Bembas summarizes the energetic cycle they find themselves in at First Lutheran: “We’ll keep pushing those barriers and asking ‘What else can we do for our community? How can we get the message out there in a way that people hear and know that we care and then the reasons why we care?’ And then they become members with new ideas and new energy to help us expand even more.”
Photos by Elisa Schulz/Michigan District, LCMS
