Online Archives

Keisha Sellers was robbed at gunpoint after she cashed her pay check at a place near her home in West Baltimore.
 
Sellers, a single mother, panicked at the thought of not having enough money to pay her bills and feed her three children.

A friend told Sellers that a nearby church had a food pantry and a soup kitchen. She walked eight blocks from her apartment to Ames Shalom Community, owned and operated by neighboring Ames UMC, to get food assistance.

Ruth Lewis, executive director of Ames Shalom, greeted Sellers in the newly painted food pantry. She packed a box of canned goods, hot dogs, chicken, cucumbers and bread for the Sellers family.

Sellers' story is being repeated in a hundred different ways, as people in the community turn to the new center, once a condemned building and now a place where children play and flock to get bag lunches the church members hand out.

For six years, adults and youth of Ames UMC, volunteers and a volunteer group called "Service for Self" worked on weekends to restore the battered building in a struggling neighborhood.

A former tenant of the condemned property also came back to help.

"At first, we had no idea that it would take so long or cost so much. The building was gutted and walls were torn down. The structure was so bad that we could stand inside and see the sky outside."

 

Contractors completed the renovation by doing the plumbing, electrical, roofing, window installation and other work.

Plagued along the way by bureaucratic red tape, the renovation was not an easy one. "But we came through with flying colors," said Lewis.  "There are a lot of prayers in these walls. God was truly with us."

Ames Shalom is appreciative for all the financial aid received from the Baltimore-Washington Conference, Lewis said. The $100,000 in loans and grants were made possible by the apportionment system, which allows churches to support each other in ministry in vital ways.

In addition to serving food to those in need, the three-level community center has developed into a multi-purpose building for adults and children.
 
The second floor has a library where shelves are filled with more than 200 books for the Ames after-school program for children, ages 2 to 11.

Children and adults have access to 15 computers on the third floor, donated by Andrews Air Force base.  Small group Bible study is also held in the building.

"Shalom is a safety zone, everyone is accepted and people can come as they are," said the Rev. Patricia Pride, pastor of Ames UMC.

Lewis said there is still work to be done, but they are happy with how far they have already come. "We have not completely furnished everything, but we have made great progress," Lewis said. "To God be the glory."