43
DEEP ROOTS
By LINDA M. LINONIS
canfield
Built on a 150-year history of strong family and community ties, Calla Community Church steps up to help people in need.
That investment is a contributing factor to its longevity.
“This is a caring church,” said the Rev. Jim Houston, who has been pastor for four years. “It’s the Christian way.”
The pastor, along with Janet Paulin-Schlegel, president of the Women’s Missionary Society, Karen Sigle Hazen, 150th anniversary committee chairwoman, and Don Knauf, church president, reflected on the church.
“This is a farming community,” Paulin-Schlegel said. “We’ve had local farmers who have had accidents.”
She said the church helps families in situations like that and those facing other emergencies. One recipient of the assistance later thanked the church by donating ice cream to its annual lawn festival.
It’s the deep roots in the community that fosters the membership’s caring manner. “I think of the church as my extended family,” Knauf said. He noted his grandmother brought him to Calla as a young boy, and his mother, the late Aileen Knauf, served as organist for some 30 years.
Paulin-Schlegel traces her family’s affiliation with the church to Jonas and Hannah Paulin, who donated the land for the church that was dedicated in 1873. The Paulin family and a relative of Knauf, T.L. Knauf, were involved in the organization of the church in 1864.
“It feels like home,” Paulin-Schlegel said.
“We know our history and like to pass it on,” Hazen said. At one time, her parents owned Sigle Greenhouse, and one of the greenhouses was part of Templin Seed Company. The company generated so much mail that a post office was established. The name Calla was a tribute to Calla lilies, a good seller for Templin.
Paulin-Schlegel, Hazen and Knauf noted that the founding fathers of the church left a good example. “We want to continue to be good stewards,” Paulin-Schlegel said of the congregation that numbers 71.
A driving force in the church is the Women’s Missionary Society, which has about a dozen members. Each year, the group makes a full-size quilt for a raffle at the lawn festival. “One hundred percent of the profits benefit a local mission — a family in need,” Paulin-Schlegel said.
“It’s a work of art,” Hazen said of the hand-sewn quilts.
The church continues the tradition of a lawn festival, the second Saturday in July. “We have the best hot turkey sandwiches,” Hazen said with pride. The menu also includes pulled pork, sloppy joes and an array of cakes and pies. Hazen added that the festival features a country store with homemade baked goods, handmade craft items and woven rag rugs.
A cookie walk, the second Saturday in December, is a popular event because of the homemade treats.
Calla Church also participates in South Range Council of Churches and Community, which provides food and other items to those in need.
The church also sponsors two soup sales during the year, in the fall and at Lent. At Christmas Eve service, the offering is dedicated to local missions.
The church helps people in need, whether they are members or not. It also sponsors a card ministry to remember those who have experienced a death in the family or to send a caring message.
A prayer chain provides spiritual support for those who are sick, grieving and other concerns along with prayers for the country and its military, police and fire departments. “Call us prayer warriors,” Paulin-Schlegel said.
The Church helps people around the globe. At its Palm Sunday breakfast, which is donation-based, funds go to the International Heifer Project. Money buys animals, which help poverty-stricken families become self-sufficient. The animals provide food and income by producing milk and eggs, which can be traded or sold.
To nurture spiritual understanding, the church has Sunday school for teens and adults. “The foundation is God’s word,” said Paulin-Schlegel. But, she noted, the membership isn’t confined by the church walls and “reaches people where they are.”
“The people here do God’s work, and that why it’s thriving,” Pastor Houston said. “It’s the people here, not the pastors.”
Knauf added that “we’re interested in growth ... respecting tradition but expanding on them.”
The pastor said “tools of today,” such as Power Point, enhance services. “We’re an inter-denominational church,” he said, noting people are from other traditions and cultures. “Everyone is welcome,” Knauf said.