With all that is going on in the world, both here
and overseas, one almost longs for the idealistic
fantasies of Superman and other such superheroes to
be true.
Note: The following is part of a series of articles
to be published in the Baptist Message regarding the
Cooperative Program and how it is at work throughout
Louisiana and the rest of the world. Subsequent
articles will appear in the newspaper during the
year to highlight Cooperative Program missions and
ministry work.
With all that is going on in the world, both here
and overseas, one almost longs for the idealistic
fantasies of Superman and other such superheroes to
be true.
It would be so much more reassuring if we could just
read about the daily disasters on the front page of
our newspapers, sink back into our chairs with our
morning coffee, and say to ourselves, “Well it’s
nothing our local superhero can’t handle!”
But just as not all superheroes are cloaked in
bright capes, not all disasters are national
headline news – for instance, the closing down of
manufacturing plants in a small, central Louisiana
town.
Within the past year, nearly 1,000 people have been
given the pink slip to financial instability in
LaSalle parish.
“We lost several hundred jobs when the Jena Juvenile
Justice Center shut down,” comments Billy Edwards,
director of mission for the East Central Baptist
Association. “That, in addition to the Urania
plywood plant shutting down, has really hit us hard.
Over 400 jobs were lost when the plywood plant
closed down.”
Enter Superman, otherwise known as the LaSalle
Storefront Ministry, a missions dedicated to
providing as much relief to in-need, out-of-work
locals as possible.
Edwards reports the storefront ministry – so named
for the abandoned stores which have housed the
missions – has been in existence for the last
sixteen years.
(The storefront ministry is a part of the “Care and
Hope” ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.)
“We’ve been in need of a larger facility and were
finally able to relocate to an old Piggly Wiggly
building this past May,” Edwards says. “We
transformed it into what it is now, thanks to money
from the Cooperative Program and other
contributions. The timing was very good.”
Of course, the timing Edwards refers to is concerned
with the economic shakeups induced by the plant
layoffs. In a town such as Jena, such changes are
felt acutely.
“The need has been tremendous,” Edwards continues.
“We probably give out twice the food we did before
these plants closed. Even though it’s just a
subsidy, we give all we can.”
The food bank out of which the ministry operates is
a sizeable one that relies heavily on both public
and private donation.
The ministry is run on a volunteer basis, with 30 to
35 workers present at any one time. On a given day,
the storefront ministry may serve up to 2,000
people.
“That’s a number that’s been with us since the
plants closed down,” notes Lavergne Johnson, who
coordinates the ministry’s various services.
Since its inception, the ministry has expanded its
services from food and clothing to include furniture
needs and counseling with the Granberry Counseling
Center.
“Every morning, we start our day with worship
services, and then, we issue food and clothing,”
Johnson says. “We also have a marriage counselor and
seminary class available to those who want it, in
addition to a Bible class program that collects an
offering to help the less fortunate.”
Beau Prather adds, “The (storefront) ministry has
been great, especially during these times.
“It helps to coordinate the things we do,” says
Prather, pastor at First Baptist Church of Urania.
“While we’re able to help people in need with their
energy bills, we know we can count on the storefront
ministry for food. … We’ve never referred anybody
to them that didn’t receive the help they were
looking for.”
Prather notes that since many of these beneficiaries
are not used to unemployment, the issues being dealt
with are particularly challenging.
“Many of these people have worked hard and worked
all their lives, and a lot of them aren’t sure what
to do with themselves,” he explains.
However, Edwards insists that a target aim of the
mission is never to make those in need feel
uncomfortable.
Helping in every aspect involves a communal and
comprehensive treatment that has the ministry
running on all of its cylinders – with food,
counseling, clothing and worship as part of the
deal.
Contributions from the Louisiana Baptist Cooperative
Program, which are included in the mission’s
routinely supplemental checks, play a direct role in
helping the storefront ministry to meet its demands.
“We believe heavily in the Cooperative Program, and
in our volunteers,” Johnson concludes. “Every little
bit counts. … Without their help, we couldn’t do
what we do.”
Okay, it may not be Superman. But to the 2,000 people helped every day by the
LaSalle Storefront Ministry, it probably is pretty close.