Donation Gives New Life to Old Church Pews

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Sept. 28, 2009) – The excitement of a sanctuary renovation at Advent Lutheran Church in Boca Raton was accompanied by the puzzling question of what to do with old pews that did not fit into the new plans. The dilemma was quickly resolved, however, when the church partnered with Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development agency in the United States.

“We were so excited when we discovered that Food For The Poor would be able to remove and ship them to Haiti for the use of churches there,” said Pastor Andy Hagen. “But this is just another example of how our relationship with Food for the Poor has been an incredible blessing.”

The Advent Lutheran congregation was a founding member of a Lutheran mission effort in Haiti called the Lazarus Project, which Food For The Poor has helped support. The church and the charity also work together to support more than 800 children at the Village of Hope School, the Hope House center for mission teams, and the Little Children of Jesus residence for handicapped children.

The most recent gift was shipped directly from the church to Haiti by Food For The Poor to help churches in need.

“Imagine going to worship and having to stand or sit on a rough bench or even sit on the floor, and you can begin to appreciate what this gift will mean to church congregations in Haiti,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Through these beautiful and comfortable pews, the people of Haiti will feel the love of their brothers and sisters in South Florida.”

Hagen traveled to Haiti last summer with a mission trip organized by Food For The Poor.

“The way the donation of the pews worked is just another illustration of the way our God works to bring his children together to care for those in need,” Hagen said.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. We provide emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Manager, Marketing and Public Relations
954-427-2222, ext. 6614
[email protected]