Christian craftsmen answer call

By the time they turn 60 or so, some seniors have already made plans for the three R’s: rest, retirement and the big RV.

Not Don Guthals and a small group of older folks spending the summer at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church.

Sure, they’re retired. And yes, they’ve got RVs. But based on the work they’ve done to renovate and expand the church, it doesn’t look like they’re quite ready for rest yet.

Guthals, who retired 11 years ago as the vice president of an aerospace company, is a volunteer with Laborers for Christ, a group of Christians who spend their retirement years working on construction projects undertaken by schools and congregations that belong to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

“We’re doing something in return for what the Lord has done for us,” said the 67-year-old Guthals. “This gives us a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.”

Since May, more than a dozen retirees from all over the West and Midwest, including two from Spokane Valley, have spent at least five days a week assisting the South Hill church with a 9,000-square-foot expansion. Those from out of town drove their motor homes or fifth wheels for thousands of miles to get here.

For the past three months, the south end of the church toward the Manito Golf Club has served as an RV park for the volunteers, who expect to stay until construction is finished in October.

Established in Colorado in 1980, Laborers for Christ has since become a mission outreach of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod with about 350 members. Thanks to Laborers, more than 600 congregations throughout the country – including at least two in the Inland Northwest – have completed building projects at a lower cost.

Since they retired 11 years ago, Guthals and his wife, Sue, have called their RV “home.” Although they still have a house in the Boulder, Colo., area, the couple spend 11 months of the year working on church construction projects all over the country.

When the Guthalses planned their retirement, they wanted three things: to travel, to meet people, and to “have a feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day after having returned something to the Lord,” said Don Guthals.

Laborers for Christ was the perfect match for the Guthals, who have since worked on 14 projects, with each one lasting about five months. Three years ago, the couple and other laborers renovated Hope Lutheran Church in Spokane Valley. In 1995, they also took part in building a welcome center at Camp Lutherhaven on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Those currently working at Beautiful Savior include retired people who once worked in construction, farming, health care, information technology, electrical engineering and other fields.

The churches seeking help from Laborers for Christ are all part of the Lutheran-Missouri Synod, but not all the laborers are Lutheran.

Bob Montle, 74, attends Opportunity Presbyterian Church in Spokane Valley, but has volunteered with Laborers for Christ since 1996, shortly after he retired from insurance work. The fact that he’s a Presbyterian working for a Lutheran agency is completely irrelevant, he said. He simply enjoys meeting people and doing the work – everything from patching holes in the floor to installing siding. Since he started working at Beautiful Savior, he and his wife, Betty, occasionally attend Sunday services there.

“Life has been too good,” he said, explaining his decision to become a Laborer for Christ. “There’s a payback time. Too many things to do in this world than just sit on a beach.”

Before Laborers sends volunteers to a site, the congregation’s proposal is assessed by consultants and project managers from the organization. After learning about upcoming projects through a bimonthly newsletter, volunteers interested in a particular site have to send an application, which must be approved by Laborers for Christ.

Work begins once the volunteers are matched to a congregation and arrive at the construction site. They not only help with the actual construction of the project, but also assist with the planning and design, as well as coordinate some of the church members who come on their days off from work to be part of the project. The laborers also sub-contract licensed electricians, plumbing and other jobs. In case of accidents, the laborers are insured through workman’s compensation. Technically, they are “hired” by the congregation and receive minimum wage, but many put that money back into the church’s offertory plate.

“They are a godsend,” said the Rev. Tim Brandt, pastor of Beautiful Savior. Besides saving the congregation money, the laborers have shared their many gifts with the roughly 220 members of the church and served as a witness to Christ’s teachings, he said.

Essentially, the volunteers become members of Beautiful Savior during their stay. Five of the laborers now sing in the church choir and they all take part in Bible study, potlucks and other church activities. One of the volunteers, a retired minister, even led a service one Sunday when Brandt was out of town.

Their work with Laborers for Christ is a gratifying way to spend one’s retirement years, Guthals said, although he acknowledged that each year “my bones ache a little more.” But he keeps at it, he said, and has no intention of quitting “until my body tells me so.”

Same for Russ Hinshaw, whose many jobs before retirement included water pollution control for the state of Utah. “To work for the Lord is the greatest thing in the world,” he said.