Transcribed by AI with human review:
Jeff Williams:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Jeff Williams. In the studio with me today, and I believe I have this right, a pastor, Reverend Dr. Anne Marshall.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
That's correct.
Jeff Williams:
Is that correct? I got it right off the bat. Okay, I'm one for one. So let's see here. Todd Knox.
Todd Knox:
Yes.
Jeff Williams:
Wow. Okay, 2 for two. Both with Westminster Presbyterian Church. Todd, do you want to introduce yourself on what you do?
Todd Knox:
Sure. Again, my name's Todd Knox. I'm here because I'm kind of the coordinator of our Steadfast Neighbor Endeavor at Church and just here to sort of let the community know what it is we're doing.
Jeff Williams:
Right on. And I'm not sure, should I pastor Marshall or should I call Anne or?
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
You can call me Anne. We'll be Anne today, yeah.
Jeff Williams:
Whatever's good for you, okay, right on. So Anne, tell us a little bit about Westminster Presbyterian Church and what the Steadfast Neighbor Endeavor program, is that correct?
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Sure, and actually we're going to go back and forth a little bit. So I am the new pastor and head of staff. I started in September. So this is actually going to be my first Steadfast Neighbor Endeavor week. And so Todd's got a little bit more of the history, but this is our 7th year.
Jeff Williams:
Okay.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
And so when the church was looking at beautifying their external spaces, they decided they also wanted to invest in the neighborhood and figure out ways to be good neighbors with our neighborhood. And so when we were investing in our building, we also made a commitment to invest in the neighborhood. And Todd can probably say a little more about that.
Todd Knox:
Yeah, so we had quite the project to renovate our grounds, and in that as part of that project, we took an additional third of what we were spending and earmarked that as a outreach for the neighboring community. Basically said we would get $450,000 over a decade. And so we are now in year seven of doing that. It's kind of a three-pronged program. There's one is with the little pantry at Graham Elementary School. Right, yep, we stock that daily, and it gets used up daily, so it's very highly utilized. We have a matching grant program where we send out applications to 130 of our neighbors, and they have the opportunity to submit applications in which we will then reimburse approved home improvement projects. At 50% up to $1,500. And of course, that's pretty popular and allows people to get some projects done that maybe they couldn't otherwise. And the third part is our service week, and that's what's coming up June 22nd through the 26th.
Jeff Williams:
June 22nd, okay. It starts June 22nd.
Todd Knox:
It does. It's a week by those same 130 people also can apply to have service week projects done. And we do things like painting, landscape work, construction work, power washing, we clean gutters, that kind of thing. And we have about, usually about 60 to 70 volunteers or what we call ministry partners who come out both at the church, from the church and the neighborhood. Then we form teams and we just go out and knock out those projects.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, love it. Basically on the corner, like Edwards and Walnut, is that correct?
Todd Knox:
That is correct.
Jeff Williams:
So, and You've been there for about a year.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Yes.
Jeff Williams:
Can you tell us a little bit of history then about your coming up?
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Yeah, well, so I grew up in Ohio.
Jeff Williams:
Okay.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
So I'm A Midwest girl at heart. And I've served in a couple different churches and then also on a seminary faculty.
Jeff Williams:
Okay.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
And then this opportunity became available here in Springfield. And actually Todd was the chair of the call committee. Oh, okay. So we did our interview process, which I kind of likened to online dating. I can imagine. But throughout that process, it just felt like a fit, not just for me, but also for our family. And so it felt like there was going to be good opportunities for my children and schooling and for my husband. And so we did that process last spring and then moved quickly to get here in time for school to start. And so this has been a year for me of just trying to get to know the congregation, get to know the history. I'm now just starting to get out a little bit more and looking forward to making more connections in the community as well. I've got a passion for care for our neighbors and kind of see that love of neighbor as one of the key parts of living out our Christian faith. That was really attractive to me to meet a congregation who had really cared for their neighbors and for the neighborhood and to hear about what they were doing. I do believe some of the longer history at Westminster was there was a period of time where churches were kind of deciding within that neighborhood where we're located, would they move out to the west side where there was new development going on or would they stay where they were? And Westminster decided that it was God's call for them to stay put. And so this is kind of the next phase of staying put is investing in the neighborhood. And then over the next three years, my hope is with the congregation, we can look to say, when these 10 years are done, what's the next phase of being a good neighbor.
Jeff Williams:
Love it, love it. So jumping back a little bit, so what part of Ohio were you from?
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
So I grew up just south of Columbus, Ohio, in a little town called Circleville. And if anyone has heard of it, it's for the Pumpkin Show, which is a big fall festival in October. And so there's all kinds of pumpkin foods, and there's Miss Pumpkin Show, and it draws from all over. So there's about 400,000 people who come in for the Pumpkin Show. Otherwise, it's a pretty sleepy little Midwest town.
Jeff Williams:
Right, okay, this is going to sound kind of random, but maybe not for people who know me, but as I travel around different places, I usually look for some of my favorite donuts, like local donuts. Buckeye Donuts in Columbus, Ohio. It has a Dutch crumb that is my second favorite donut in the nation. I love the Dutch crumb from Buckeye Donuts.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Next time I'm back home, I've had Buckeye Donuts, but I don't think I've had the Dutch crumb.
Jeff Williams:
The Dutch crumb, I loved it. I picked that one out as I was driving. I was heading out to Philadelphia and I stopped there and I was like, I'll get a couple donuts. And that Dutch crumb, man, that thing was crazy. I loved it.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Well, so as an Ohio State alum, I ate many a Buckeye donut in my day.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, okay, all right, right on, right on. Okay, so we're not going to talk about Michigan at any point here. my goodness, sorry. Okay, I'll get back on track. We're going to get back on track here. So then, Todd, can you give us a little bit of the history of how this event, the Steadfast Neighbor Endeavor program, how it got, how it sparked?
Todd Knox:
Well, yeah, it was just as we were renovating our church grounds, we just felt like if we were going to invest in ourselves, that we also needed to invest in the neighborhood. And, you know, truth is, the neighborhood was probably struggling a little bit at the time.
Jeff Williams:
It seems like it's popping back to me, kind of, as I, yeah.
Todd Knox:
Exactly. I know, we don't, we're not taking full credit for any of that, but I think we are contributing to it.
Jeff Williams:
Contributing, man, yeah.
Todd Knox:
And, you know, we hear from our neighbors all the time that, you know, how well they, how much they appreciate what we're doing. In fact, we had a neighbor tell us that they've met so many other neighbors through this, and just because we're all kind of involved and looking out for one another, and there's several examples of that. So it's been wonderful, not just getting projects done, but just reinvigorating the neighborhood.
Jeff Williams:
Love that.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Well, and I'll say, so a couple weeks ago, we went on a tour of the neighborhood. So Todd is very organized, and he gets all of the submissions and gets them organized. And we actually then go and meet each of our neighbors, either for the matching grant or for the service week, to kind of see what are they planning, and especially what do they need help for so that we can plan our volunteers. Years, but it was a great opportunity to walk the neighborhood and talk to our various neighbors, and it was cool to see what... with our team as we went out, they'd say, now, two years ago in this backyard, it was full of scrub and we were able to clean this out. And so you could just imagine some of the transformation over the last seven years. But then also, I think I can just imagine as a homeowner, because I am one, you get overwhelmed sometimes. And so having a group of people who were able to help you tackle that one big thing that just felt overwhelming, and then you could see how neighbors have been working on it themselves. And keeping things, up and getting things spiffied up. And once you kind of got that big major project that felt overwhelming out of the way, how that really then has encouraged them within their own home ownership. But I think also some folks who are buying into the neighborhood, because now when you see, these houses that seem to be well cared for. It makes you want to live in that neighborhood. And so you could just imagine as we were walking through the neighborhood, even as someone who's brand new to Springfield, the transformation that's happened over these last seven years. And again, not just us, but.
Jeff Williams:
Just the whole thing. That's the thing is when everybody is able to help in this way or that way, it kind of raises everything. I mean, seriously, that's how this is another thing, a little, maybe a little bit of a sidebar, but I feel like it helped there too, was when they put the bike lanes in and stopped having it be the four lanes of traffic in there, which, and might not know this just from being here for only about a year. But before it was kind of like how MacArthur is now where it's like jammed, you know, it's just jammed in. It's so busy because of the four lanes or the two going each way. And I remember there was kind of a little pushback when that first happened, when they put those bike lanes in on Walnut, but I think it's helped the street overall. I mean, I get it, traffic has to go someplace, but it's a, you know, it's a stream of traffic that comes through there. But I really, well, I ride bikes a lot. I'm a bike advocate, so that's part of it why I notice it. But I think it has really also contributed to helping that neighborhood feel more like a neighborhood, again, much like what you're doing, as compared to just a quick, like a thoroughfare, Sure.
Todd Knox:
Well, and you don't expect things like bike lanes to make a difference, but it actually helped trigger this entire program because... When they did that, we also lost parking in front of the church. So on Sunday mornings, people didn't have any place to park. And so what did we do? Well, we renovated and expanded our parking lot. And that led to this entire program. So just, I mean, that's one of several things that triggered this, but you just never know, right?
Jeff Williams:
That's part of the spark, though. See, that's the thing I love hearing. That's nice to hear the history and the people listening. And, you know, they kind of know part of the background of it, too, online presence.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Yes, our website is WPCSPI.org. There's lots of Westminster Presbyterian churches and there's lots of Springfields. But if you Google Westminster Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Illinois, our website will pop up and there's contact information. And then there is also information about the Steadfast Neighbor Endeavor. This year, we've pretty much closed our submissions for the work week because we're getting geared to do that in just a few weeks to do the projects. But if any of our neighbors were interested in a matching grant and haven't turned one in, they could still do that. If someone wants to volunteer and help us.
Jeff Williams:
That's what I was going to ask, volunteering.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
And I believe the sign up is on our website. And so people, if they want to come and help volunteer and we feed folks lunch. So and last year it was, I think I was interviewing and aware of it, the hottest week of the summer maybe.
Todd Knox:
Of course I was.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
And so last year they did most of the work in the morning instead of a full work days and have found that has worked well. So this year we're planning on working in the mornings and having lunch at kind of the end of our day. Maybe there's a little project here or there that goes over, but we're looking at mornings of that week. So if people are interested in coming and being the helping hands, there is a sign up on our website and we are taking more volunteers for that.
Jeff Williams:
Well, yeah, once again, we are in the studio, with Pastor Reverend Doctor Anne Marshall and Todd Knox. He is the coordinator for Westminster Presbyterians Church Steadfast Neighbor Endeavor Program. That was kind of a mouthful to say all that in there. I might have to redo that. We'll see. We'll see about that. I'm glad you were both able to come in. Is there any other events you have on the horizon?
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Again, this is my first year, so with all the different committees, we're starting to plan some fun events for the fall. So we're looking at a welcome back picnic on September 13th. Right after church, it's going to be at the church. We've been very blessed with some mission money to spend in Springfield, but we're hoping to figure out exactly who we're going to partner with to have a more focused effort. And so that's something that we're working on this fall. So we're excited about kind of what's the next phase of our mission outreach that we could really make an impact here in Springfield.
Jeff Williams:
Right on. Can you give, and if not, I'm not trying to throw a curveball or anything, in the past, like some of the mission collaborations you've done mission-wise?
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Sure. Well, so Heartland housed is a mission partner and we actually gave them a substantial donation last year to kind of help them get up and off the ground and also to leverage some other giving. Contact ministries we've been on the board and I think we may be even we were one of the founding churches there. Compass for Kids meets in our building. So and so with Compass for Kids and now with Graham we've got the free pantry and we're actually doing a project for them this summer during our Steadfast Endeavor Week. We're going to be doing a little landscaping there. So there's a lot of different organizations that we've supported. The Illinois Presbyterian Home, so Kemmerer Village. I mean, we've just got a plethora. In fact, if you look at our mission booklet, it's, I don't know, 12 pages long of all the different agencies we work with. And we're not intending to back off from that, but instead to say, at least for the next couple of years, is there one or two that we could really focus more energy and attention?
Jeff Williams:
Makes sense, yeah.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
What kind of difference could we make? Motherland Gardens, we've been a supporter of them. So I'm going to get in trouble because there's so many really. So these are just some examples.
Jeff Williams:
Just some shout outs.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
But I do think on our website that there is a copy of our. So if people wanted to see the full list, you could visit our website. And it's got from last year, all the mission giving, all the different organizations that we supported. Big project we've had is supporting some refugees. And that's an ongoing ministry. We've helped them kind of get on their feet here in Springfield. And been tutoring and helping with English and making connections for job opportunities. And so we've had a whole team that's been supporting them. And that's been a really positive experience for our church to be able to have those personal relationships.
Jeff Williams:
Very commendable, definitely. So, well, we'll thank you both for what you're doing for the community. You know, thank you very much for that. And once again, we are in the studio, the pastor, Reverend Dr. Anne Marshall. And Todd Knox, who's a coordinator for Westminster's Presbyterian Church Steadfast Neighbor Endeavor Program.
Todd Knox:
I guess saying that's not probably the right word, is let the doors of this church be a way to serve us. We try to live that and not just talk the talk, but walk the walk also. So we're happy to be able to do that.
Jeff Williams:
Well, thank you very much both for coming in today.
Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall:
Absolutely. Thanks for the opportunity.
Jeff Williams:
Right on. Community Voices is a production of NPR Illinois.
