Friday, October 16, 2009
Wheatland Lutheran's outreach effort offers food, thoughts
Keith Haley
Priscilla Richardson is columnist The Botetourt View. You can contact her at 981-3430 or via e-mail.
Priscilla Richardson
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Wheatland Lutheran Church only averages about 60 worshipers a Sunday, but they aim to reach out to everyone in Botetourt. Like many other local churches, they collect food for the Botetourt Food Pantry, support holiday angel tree families and the Botetourt Resource Center. However, one way they raise the money for the center is an outreach in itself.
This outreach, called Sharing God's Grace, uses all proceeds for the center. Sharing, a monthly noon lunch prepared by the women of the church at the church building, also presents a speaker. Fincastle's Keith Haley, a 10-year member of the church, coordinates everything from taking reservations to finding speakers.
The church offers the lunch at no cost. Those who attend, half of whom are members of other churches, make donations as they see fit. And according to Haley, enjoy the food and the speakers greatly.
The lunch is always the third Tuesday of each month year round, except for December. The guest speaker on Oct. 20, the Rev. Marvin Barbre, director of spiritual care for Good Samaritan Hospice, will tackle advanced directives. He'll touch on some ethical and spiritual issues around artificial feeding and hydration for the elderly and terminally ill. The November speaker will explain the Second Harvest Food Bank.
Haley lists speakers and their subjects in the View each month, or you can ask him when you call for reservations. He does want to know by the Friday before each meal how many will be coming so as to have enough to eat. Call him at 540-992-5403.
Wheatland's building is handicapped accessible, with an elevator, and has plenty of paved parking. Also, "we have the best view of Purgatory Mountain of any place in the county," said Haley. It sits halfway between Fincastle and Buchanan, taking Springwood Road to Wheatland. Or, from the other way, Wheatland Road runs west off of U.S. 11 between Troutville and Buchanan. If you're not sure of how to get there from where you live, just ask Haley.
Some of the past programs have included Rena Worthen and Loretta Caldwell on genealogy, Terry Austin, Buchanan's County Supervisor, and Kevin Costello, the county's tourism coordinator. On the lighter side, they once featured the Oriskany Strings and another time, a comedy skit. For one memorable program they saw a demonstration of what work dogs trained by the Saint Francis of Assisi folks do: open doors, turn on lights, you name it.
Haley himself, a Roanoke native and graduate of Jefferson High School, worked his way through Roanoke College selling men's clothing. He then did his dental degree at the Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University. He served as a captain in the army for two years, "on our side," he quipped. He practiced dentistry in Roanoke and Salem from 1962 until his retirement in 2007. He keeps his hand in at the Bradley Free Clinic. "What I do is mentor senior dental students from Richmond. They're seeing the patients and we check them and give them advice. Or jump in if help is needed."
Haley's wife Natalie, after her college years, stayed home to raise their daughters, but then worked until her own retirement setting up computer assisted design for HSMM. She now creates the church's newsletter, and in common with all the members, takes her turn at cleaning the church building.
They are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, so I had to ask him the secret of such a long marriage. "Respect for your partner," he replied. "And knowing when to keep your mouth shut."
Talking about outreach, don't miss the free duo piano concerts given by Carole Edwards, Jackie Werb, Joy McNabb and Deanne Vance at The Glebe tomorrow at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 4. Reception follows.
