Since Habitat for Humanity started operating in the Dane County area in 1987, local volunteers have built or remodeled homes for 169 families. House blessing ceremonies for the latest three families to join that group were held Saturday on Oregon Parks Avenue in Oregon.
The ceremony lasted for a little over an hour, as volunteers who had assisted with the project crowded into one home after another for congratulations, introductions, a presentation of gifts, and a liturgy of prayer and thanksgiving. Afterwards everyone was invited next door to the People’s Methodist Church for a potluck lunch.
Perry Ecton, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Dane County, pointed out that only one of the 169 Habitat homes constructed over the past 23 years has been lost to foreclosure. A total of 155 families remain in the homes they helped construct. Ten families have moved on to other homes. And the three families who were blessed on Saturday will be moving in over the next few weeks.
"We feel very blessed to receive our home," said Fannie Borntrager, who will be moving into one home, with her mother and two daughters. "If you ever had a dream and watched it unfold before your eyes, you can imagine how we feel."
"We thank God, because without Him none of this would happen," said Sandee Lehman. She and her husband Jeff and their two children read together a short dedication of their home to God’s service.
Luke Joseph and his wife Mary have one young daughter and another child on the way. "We’ve been dreaming of this for six years, ever since we got married," he said.
Each of the families was presented with two quilts, made by women of St. John’s Lutheran Church and the Holy Mother of Consolation WINGS group. They were also given photo albums which recorded the building process, as well as a tool box, a Bible, and a gift of pots, pans, and silverware donated by the HyCite corporation.
A total of 10,762 volunteer hours were recorded during the construction of the three homes, which took about nine months. Some volunteers invested over 400 hours. Each of the families invested some "sweat equity" into the construction.
Special thanks was given to the Oregon High School Home Construction Class for their work. And also members of the churches that worked together under the Apostles Build program: Community of Life Lutheran, High Point Church, Hillcrest Bible Church, Holy Mother of Consolation, People’s United Methodist, St. John’s Lutheran, and St. Andrew’s and St. William’s Catholic Churches in Verona.
Don Lund, speaking of the Apostles Build program said,, "We don’t just build houses, we build community. We have a variety of faith communities who have worked together to honor the scripture, ‘love thy neighbor.’"
The Oregon-Brooklyn Habitat Satellite group oversaw the three projects. This group constructed a total of nine homes over the past five years. Perry Ecton pointed out that it was the Oregon-Brooklyn group that first got the ball rolling for Habitat locally 23 years ago.
Habitat is active in several areas of Madison, building new homes and also rehabilitating older homes. On Russett Road, for instance, a four-unit apartment building is being rehabbed into a two-unit owner-occupied townhome. Projects are also underway in Stoughton and Sun Prairie. More information is available at www.habitatdane.org.
photo: Luke and Mary Joseph are presented a Bible by Rick Waldschmidt of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.