THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507210267
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
When eight Great Neck teenagers go back to school, they'll likely have a unique rendition of ``how I spent my summer vacation'' to share with classmates.
They didn't loll at the beach every day, spend a month at camp or visit Disney World.
Instead, they raised more than $2,000 and each paid $100 to work with the displaced poor and homeless in a drug-infested area of Atlanta for one week last month. The teenagers from Lynnhaven Colony Congregational Church drove 11 hours in a donated van with pastor Fred Grosse to help a storefront mission church serve the indigent children of Atlanta.
It was an eye-opening experience, they all agreed. This youth group workcamp, which involved several other churches from across the nation, was overseen by Habitat for Humanity.
``It was shocking how dirty they were,'' said Jackie Jackson, 15, a rising sophomore at Cox High School. ``I've never been around homeless people before. It was kind of weird.''
Matt Henderson, 15, said that they originally thought they would be building houses. Wrong.
Their group was sent to the Cornerstone Mission Church in downtown Atlanta to paint the exterior, remove debris, wallpaper, lay siding, clean floors and bathrooms, prepare food and care for the children. About 50 children go through the mission every day.
``This was the Good Samaritan story,'' said Matt, a rising junior at Cape Henry Collegiate School. ``Many pass them by but we didn't. We wanted to help the more unfortunate people.''
The mission church is a former antiques store whose owner became a Christian three years ago, said pastor Grosse. It serves the people whose homes were razed for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The new Olympic Stadium, in fact, is located just six blocks away.
But the church is in such a high-crime area that the youth group was not allowed to stay past 3 p.m. each day. Abandoned buildings surround the church and are an attractive target for drug dealers and gangs. Despite the danger, however, none of the teenagers said they felt scared.
``We never envisioned what a mission church would be like,'' said Grosse, whose congregation on West Great Neck Road consists of 212 members. ``I've done five Habitat for Humanity workcamps and you never know what you're going to do. We worked with kids from a completely different culture.''
Tending to the homeless youngsters was the best part of the workcamp for all of the participants. Bailey Allman, Brittney Martin, Shane Weaver, Erin Ferrigno and Blair Anderson also went to the workcamp, as did Grosse's 13-year-old daughter, Katy.
Katy Grosse said it was good to be able to help the children.
``A lot of them had never been hugged,'' said Katy, a rising eighth-grader at Independence Middle School. ``We had to carry them around. It was fun.''
The youth group also experienced the gritty reality of a real workcamp. When their 10-hour days were done, the teens didn't retire to an air-conditioned hotel room or a comfortable house. They slept on the cement floor of a stuffy gymnasium at a local church. And they didn't watch television the entire week.
Pastor Grosse said that the youth group just did what it was supposed to do - serve, work and leave.
``Our denomination believes that there is a very strong tie between spirituality and lifestyle,'' said Grosse, whose church is affiliated with the 1.5 million-member United Church of Christ. ``We have a commitment to social justice. The children who went to the workcamp saw that one person can make a difference.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo courtesy of Lynnhaven Colony Congregational Church
Katy Grosse and Jackie Jackson were among eight teenagers from
Lynnhaven Colony Congregational Church who helped renovate a
downtown Atlanta mission that cares for indigent children. ``A lot
of them had never been hugged,'' Katy, daughter of pastor Fred
Grosse, said of the children.
by CNB