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University names new director of discipleship
Mission to the Czech Republic
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An exercise in fellowship |
Wood ministry at Love INC delivers cord wood to
needy families in the area |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
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A cord of wood measures 4 feet
high, 4 feet deep and 8 feet wide and can help heat a moderately
sized home for more than a month. But wood is expensive and
preparing it for the wood pile is labor intensive. For families
where money is tight, there may only be enough in the budget to have
enough to eat or to keep warm. But not both.
Lou Goslin is the
coordinator of a wood ministry that operates under the umbrella of
Love INC (In the Name of Christ), a clearinghouse for churches and
agencies for people in need in Newberg.
He said he first got involved when he contacted Love INC. Goslin
had some wood he wanted to give away for folks who needed it. The
idea caught on with folks at Newberg Friends Church, where Goslin is
a member. Not long after Chehalem Park and Recreation District,
George Fox University and private parties began donating wood.
Oak trees felled in Memorial Park by heavy rain in January were
sawed into rounds in February by park district employees and left it
in Goslin’s pasture.
“We sawed away,” he said.
In the end a total of 11 cords of wood were split, stacked and
distributed to 30 families in Newberg, Dundee, Lafayette, Yamhill
and Sherwood.
Goslin said volunteers are welcome and already about 45 people are
on the volunteer list. But younger people are needed. “It’s open to
anyone who wants to help,” he said.
The project is an ongoing one, said volunteer Hub Mardock.
Families and individuals who need wood may contact Love INC at
503-537-3999. The agency will then do an intake and, if it
determines the wood is needed by the folks who have come looking for
it, representatives e-mail Goslin. Then on the second Saturday of
the month, Goslin and his crew of about a dozen volunteers heads out
to the wood piles and fills the bed of a truck with wood, which is
then distributed to the people who need it.
At present, Goslin and his volunteers have about 10 cords of aged
wood cut and stacked, ready to deliver to clients. And they have
about 20 more cords to cut.
“It’s good exercise and fellowship,” Goslin said. And the folks who
get the wood are grateful. |
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From
Sept. 2, 2006, Newberg Graphic
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