Church group donates time to help Habitat for Humanity

By Keith Purtell
Phoenix Staff Writer

August 02, 2008 10:11 pm

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From singing inspirational music to clearing brush to make room for a house, a choir from the small southeastern Oklahoma town of Valliant has found two ways to get their message across.
The multi-denominational group of young people called Know Harmony was in town Friday to help Muskogee Habitat for Humanity.
Formerly an overgrown lot donated to Habitat, the 21 youngsters started at 7 a.m. cutting away heavy brush so the land near Seventh and Hartford streets can become a future home for a low-income family.
Cindy Donaldson, 44, choir director for eight years, said they started out as a strictly musical Christian group.
“When they were younger we would go to towns and just sing,” she said. “As they got older, we saw that there were people in towns that needed so much more. We can show Jesus by this use of our time and do as much as the things we say.”
Donaldson said there was one event that got her hooked on volunteering labor.
“This all got started when I went to Cameron, La., and saw that the town was gone because of Hurricane Rita,” she said. “I went in and asked the lady how we could help, and we came back at Christmas with a load of washers and dryers. We have two members who are good carpenters and made small wooden buildings for them. After that, we were bit bad; we wanted to do more. That’s when we contacted Habitat.”
Donaldson said the kids, ages 11 to 17, get practical skills but also learn life skills and meet people.
“We were involved through Habitat for Humanity in Hot Springs, Ark., where we helped build a house,” she said. “But we’ve never gotten in on the ground level until now. We hope to come back in October to help build the home here.”
One of the young people out on the muggy, summer morning was Ashlie Simpson, 16, who said she has been involved with Know Harmony for six or seven years.
“At first, we would just go to local churches and sing and do little skits,” she said. “The first time we really worked like this was in Memphis at a center for homeless people. We cleaned it out and helped them get organized.”
Simpson said the youngsters are motivated spiritually and personally to take on the task.
“We do it because we’re told to in the Bible, and because we all get to be really good friends,” she said. “We get to talking, and it’s hard not to be friends after you’ve done something like this together.”
Simpson also has been personally affected by all the Know Harmony projects.
“I think it makes me realize how much I have and not to take that for granted,” she said. “It’s good to see the difference you can make.”
Bob Weaver with Habitat for Humanity said he was very pleased to have someone show up unexpectedly to help them prepare for their 30th house.
“It was overgrown,” he said. “These nice people called us on the phone. We’re trying to get ready for First United Methodist Church to sponsor a house. It would have taken us three weekends with volunteer labor to get this cleared off. They’re going to get it done in half a day.”
Roy Entz with First United Methodist Church, who was helping load the brush on a truck, said there were two reasons his church got involved.
“This is mission work,” he said. “First Methodist has been involved with eight houses providing finances and labor. One of our benefactors, Morris Caves of Acme Engineering, set up a trust fund before he died so the proceeds can finance Habitat housing.”
Entz said the church also gets a unique benefit when their volunteers become involved in construction of the house later this year.
“The important thing for our church is to get all the age groups together; kids and old folks,” he said. “We have a contemporary service for younger people and a traditional service. This gives us a way to all get together if we don’t worship together.”

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