Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Largo aims for 50,000 volunteer hours

The congregation of Prince of Peace Lutheran is heading into the last few weeks of an eight-month project, "50 Years, 50,000 Hours of Service,'' a program commemorating the church's golden anniversary.

Almost 400 church members have been spending their free time in the service of others. They've been painting, raking, praying and quilting. More than 20 nonprofit organizations from around Pinellas County have benefited from their efforts.

"We decided to mark the occasion of our anniversary by serving the community. The idea was to create what we named our 'Action Team,' and it is made up of our members who have been logging service hours, whether in our congregation or outside of church,'' said Pastor Joe Glymph.

As of Friday, about 40,000 hours had been logged.

This weekend has been named "Go and Do Likewise Service Days Weekend.'' Dozens more hours will be added to the overall count by Saturday night, said Faye Belskey, the church coordinator of discipleship ministries.

On Friday and Saturday mornings, teams were scheduled to be dispatched to organizations including the Clearwater Free Clinic, Kimberly Home of Clearwater, Pinellas Hope, RCS Food Pantry of Clearwater and the St. Petersburg Free Clinic.

The volunteers will celebrate their work with a reception and brunch in between the church services today.

Ever since Prince of Peace Lutheran Church started in 1959 inside the Largo Civic Auditorium, there has always been an incredibly strong volunteer ethic, said Glymph, who has held his post since 1999.

"We've always seen our members volunteering," he said. "And to successfully pull off the project, it was just a matter of keeping a formal record.''

In August, church staffers placed cards in the pews for people to fill out their service hours. At that time, Glymph explained to his congregation that each week, he'd like them to report what work they had done in the community.

"I told the congregation then that our purpose was not to pat ourselves on the back, but to really see the numbers on how we are serving the Lord at this time of celebration,'' he said.

The work has ranged from providing tours at Heritage Village to making prayer shawls. While some have logged hours volunteering at Morton Plant Hospital, others have completed repairs at the homes of church members in need.

Many volunteers are retirees or snowbirds who have already left the area until next year.

"But even though they are gone, they continue to work and log hours for us,'' said Belskey. "For example, they have been writing letters to soldiers, which we forward overseas.''

On Friday, volunteers dispatched to the Kimberly Home of Clearwater, a nonprofit resource center that offers assistance to women in unplanned or troubling pregnancies. They washed windows and landscaped with Norm Cunningham and Gary Miller of the organization's maintenance department.

"We always appreciate when volunteer groups come out like they did. It makes our job so much easier,'' said Cunningham. "Actually, when it comes to the successful running of this place, volunteers help us get to the things we couldn't get to otherwise.''

Like Glymph, Belskey knew church members would step up for the cause.

"I think the reason we are seeing success is simple. It's because usually people who go to church care,'' she said. "I know that is simple, but that is the reason. They care.''