Ethan Maple is lead pastor of Mt. Comfort Church. The church received an American Rescue Plan Act grant and is remodeling a former parsonage at its Philadelphia campus into a duplex that could serve families displaced by fire, tornado, etc.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
PHILADELPHIA — When a fire tore through a section of Greenfield Crossing Apartments in October, the 16 families displaced found temporary shelter with relatives or at Park Chapel Christian Church.
There was an outpouring of clothes, toys, restaurant gift cards, etc., to help displaced families in the days following that fire.
But it can take months, at minimum, for a family to be able to return to its home following a fire, flood, tornado or other disaster. Where does a family live in the meantime?
That’s the idea behind the Comfort House, a former parsonage that Mt. Comfort Church has remodeled into space for two families on its Philadelphia campus at 2265 W. U.S. 40. The church will soon have a ribbon-cutting and open house for the facility, where the community can see the space.
“We want to create a safe and comfortable place where healing can happen,” said Ethan Maple, lead pastor of Mt. Comfort Church.
Hancock County Commissioners awarded a grant of nearly $249,375 in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the remodeling of the more than 2,800 square feet in the former parsonage.
“Through the ARPA grant application process, emergency shelter and housing were identified as high-priority needs for our county,” wrote Katie Ottinger, community investment and grants officer for the Community Foundation of Hancock County. The foundation worked with county commissioners in the process of awarding the portion of ARPA funds the county set aside for non-profit organizations.
“We believe The Comfort House will help fill a gap in our community for families who are displaced from their homes, often due to circumstances beyond their control,” Ottinger continued in an email to the Daily Reporter. “Mt. Comfort Church has worked tirelessly to make this vision come to fruition, and the Community Foundation commends the church’s leadership for stepping up and responding to this need.”
Sarah House, a support navigator with Hancock Health Connection Center, wrote in an email, “We are excited to see this resource become available for families in Hancock County as the need for transitional housing and shelter has continued to grow. We look forward to learning more about the Comfort House and how their plan can serve the community.”
For months, people of the congregation and hired contractors have worked to restructure the 1960s-built former parsonage. Crews have moved walls, reclaimed a garage as living space, and rebuilt from the studs out with fresh insulation, drywall, paint and furnishings.
A number of businesses have offered donations and/or discounts in some piece of the process. A plaque in the finished building’s entryway will list them.
“We want those guests to know: ‘Your community is here supporting you, not just Mt. Comfort Church,’” Maple said.
In decades past, it was common for churches to have a house nearby; it was where the pastor’s family lived and was among benefits attached to the job. That practice has become less common, often phased out over time as churches instead offered a housing allowance or simply considered housing cost when setting a salary.
Churches in Philadelphia and Mt. Comfort merged effective Jan. 1, 2021. Maple is pastor of that united church, which has a 9 a.m. service in Philadelphia and a 10:45 a.m. service in Mt. Comfort, so there was no pastor in Philadelphia needing housing. Maple said the building had not been inhabited for about 10 years and was simply used for storage.
The remodeled building now has a common entrance with access to a laundry room. That entry hallway also branches off toward an eastern apartment and a western one. Both have a kitchen, dining/living space, a bathroom, and two bedrooms — one with bunks, the other with a queen-size bed.
Creators of the Comfort House hope an enclosed, family-oriented space will meet needs for families who’ve already experienced loss.
“To be able to come into the Comfort House,” Maple said, “and have a space and a home that is designated for you as a family to spread out and live and heal and kind of recover — that’s what we want to see.”
SEE THE HOUSE
A community open house for the Comfort House is planned for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 9 at 2265 W. U.S. 40, Greenfield, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:15 a.m. A free lunch from Smokin’ Barrel BBQ will be served, and there will be tours of the house. You can learn more about the house and how to support the project at https://www.mtcomfortchurch.com/the-comfort-house/.
