Six years ago, someone in need walked through the doors of Florence Christian Church with a request: would the office shower be available?
The woman, who was living in her car at the time, had other needs, too, but the shower request was unique.
Dr. Susan Ward Diamond, lead pastor at the church, and Melissa Stephens, minister of outreach, talked it over.
“Is there any reason we couldn’t offer this person the opportunity to take a shower here in our church office restroom?,” Stephens asked of Diamond.
“Can’t think of a reason not to use what we have to help,” Diamond replied.
The request was granted, not just once, but once or twice a month until the woman found housing.
Word trickled out about the church’s shower and others in need started to show up, too, and their requests were also granted, but church officials asked that folks keep it on the down-low.
But word spread further, and Florence Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) found themselves operating a “shower ministry.” More than two dozen monthly showers were being offered and relationships were built.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived locally, Florence Christian Church joined other houses of worship in shutting down operations for a while as part of an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“(W)e had to shut down operations, not only of the shower ministry, but practically all of our ministries that involved gathering,” Diamond said Friday. “It was an incredibly hard time, and we remembered our friends in prayer, and I have to say how grateful we were for the way that our government officials responded in creative ways to the need.”
The church found other ways to help during the pandemic. A 24-7 outdoor food pantry and drive-by food distribution two times a month were launched.
And then, the entire office wing of the church underwent a renovation with an expansion of its shower ministry, now dubbed “Fresh Start Shower Ministry.” Its motto is, “fresh body, fresh clothes, fresh heart.”
There are now two fully-equipped, ADA-compliant bathrooms along with a laundry facility and a welcoming space for people to find comfort inside when the weather is bad. The church was able to move forward with grant funding from the R.C. Durr Foundation and Boone County Human Services’s grants program.
On Friday, the church celebrated its expanded ministry with a ribbon-cutting program. The church received proclamations from the City of Florence and the Boone County Fiscal Court.
“One thing I’d like to leave you with today is something I’ve been learning more and more each day,” Diamond told those gathered on Friday. “Take what you have and hold it loosely. Be open to receive the gentle and sometimes not-so-gentle nudges to take a risk on behalf of those God sends your way. And see what God will do as we join together in sharing love through helping our neighbors in practical ways like the Fresh Start Shower Ministry where we wish all who come to receive the blessings of a fresh body, fresh clothes, and a fresh heart.”
