ReStore Community Center turns 10 this fall. A celebration is set during the Tuesday, Nov. 1, crockpot meal at the center. The following reflections are from Robert Kanzig. interim director, and Karen Ward, founder. This is a reprint from the October-November ReStore newsletter, which is also an attachment to this story.
Robert Kanzig: This place has given community to those who need it since day one. At the beginning, we had seniors hanging out every day. With our lunches, we brought in a lot of people. Crockpot Tuesday is a huge community event. And for Thanksgiving, up to 250 people every year celebrate with us. In a town of 2,500, that’s impressive.
The founders had a really great vision. Even though change has occurred, I’d like to think we’re still honoring their vision. Being here for 10 years shows the strength of the vision and the necessity of it.
Karen Ward: Psalm 51 tells us: ‘ReStore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.’
We began ReStore as a group of church members – people believing in the reality of Jesus Christ as the Savior of all people sent to earth by God.
But it is hard to enter a church building for some – it can feel like entering a private club. We felt that we needed a neutral place, no membership required, if we really wanted to be in service. A place to put the coffee on, provide a few racks of clean and good clothes for anyone who wanted them, and have a pot of soup on Tuesday nights.
Most important was to bring our heart and soul to this place. It didn’t seem to matter if the floor was uneven or the furniture didn’t match or the clothes weren’t the right size. What happened was genuine hospitality, openness, and love were in the room.
That was the crux of living Christ to all the community.
But of course, in living this principle of love, most of us found it for ourselves too. It became a sacred way of thinking to realize that any moment, as a person enters, it could be Jesus walking in the door. It was never just a one-way act of love, warmth and hospitality – it was twofold and redeeming to all our hearts.
When we began ReStore, the community response was amazing. People just started coming in. We had people scraping paint, cleaning. It was such a beautiful reaction.
Over the years, so much has happened at ReStore. We have amazing volunteers and donations. We’ve had a wedding there and a baptism. ReStore is now open five days a week, from two afternoons initially, and we serve lunch.
No one will starve in this community as long as ReStore is there. Even more, being open means that there is a place to have fellowship, to be warm, to be recognized, to get together with other humans.
