Two churches unite over mission
When the Rev. Jerry Colbert arrived at John Wesley UMC in 2006, some older members asked him whether the church basement would be finished in their lifetimes.
It was an unappealing empty, unused space with bare concrete floors and exposed duct work and water pipes. The small congregation couldn't afford the $50,000 needed to contract the work.
The Heavenly Honey-Doers stepped up to help.
The Honey-Doers, a ministry of Calvary UMC in Annapolis, formed last fall as a way for the men of Calvary to use their skills with power tools to help church members with household tasks and repairs, said Rodger Findiesen, the church's lay leader. The group has about 30 members, coordinated by George "Spike" Muller, who retired in 1991 from his job as chief engineer at the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol.
Ten of them came with their tools, skills and labor to John Wesley, which furnished all the supplies.
When the congregation arrived on Palm Sunday, they saw a fresh new lower level with walls ready to paint and a door opening into a future kitchen.
"They were an answer to our prayers," Colbert said. Church leaders marveled at how quickly the long-postponed building project got underway once the two churches came together.
"That's how you can tell God's at work," Findiesen said. "Things just fall into place."
- Linda Worthington
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