A fledgling Safety Harbor group offers support to anyone during life turbulence. "The whole purpose is to help people help themselves," the director says.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published March 6, 2004
SAFETY HARBOR - You don't have to be a Methodist. You don't even need to be a Christian.
But if you feel like your life needs some direction, you can come to the Compass.
The Compass, a Methodist outreach center on Second Street N, bills itself as more than just Sunday services and Bible study classes. It held an open house and barbecue Thursday night to let the community get acquainted with the program.
The ministry also has support programs for people dealing with life issues, such as divorce, losing a loved one or low self-esteem. Classes will begin Thursday and run from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
"The whole purpose is to help people help themselves," said Lee Savage, Compass director. "We're not a commercial organization. We're reaching out to the community."
The Compass, a ministry of Heritage United Methodist Church in Clearwater, is operating out of the former First United Methodist Church building, which closed in late 2002. When First United Methodist closed, it rented out its classrooms and office space to Head Start.
When Head Start moved, Heritage United bought the church and spent more than a year renovating and restoring the building. More than 140 people, many of them from Heritage, attended the church's first service on Christmas Eve.
Compass, however, is a separate ministry from Heritage United Methodist Church and hopes "to return the facility to a fully functioning, healthy church and to have the Florida Conference appoint a pastor to the church within three years," Savage said.
"On a normal Sunday, we see about 50 to 60 people," Savage said. "What will really help us grow are our programs and ministries."
Aside from the support programs and services, the Compass has a thrift shop with items ranging from 10 cents to $10. The shop opened Thursday and will operate regularly from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.
So many people have donated items that even the overflow room is almost full, said Lisa McNamee, who volunteered to set up the shop.
"The church members have been extremely generous," McNamee said. "I've got more clothes than I can put out. There's clothing that has definitely seen some wear and there are brand-new things that still have the tags on."
The Compass also has classrooms for school-age children, a nursery for babies and preschoolers, a sanctuary that seats 200, a fellowship hall, a kitchen with four ovens, and meeting room space that outside groups can use. The Safety Harbor Neighborhood Family Center has space to store nonperishable food.
A volunteer co-op allows people to work in exchange for cheaper groceries. In the back is a playground and overflow parking.
"You should have seen this before," Savage said as he opened the doors to the sanctuary. "It had terrazzo floors, old pews."
The renovation is the latest transformation for the First United Methodist Church building. The church began in 1905 in a town then known as Green Springs. In 1921, a hurricane lifted the church, which faced Second Street at Fourth Avenue N, off its foundation and turned it sideways. It was left in that position.
But in 1935, another hurricane came through and ripped off the roof, while rain damaged the church interior. A mission group paid to replace the roof, and volunteers did the inside repairs.
Heritage's congregation built a new sanctuary in 1960, and added a fellowship hall and education building in 1978. The original church building was moved in two pieces to Heritage Village in Largo, where it is part of a historical museum.
Savage has been knocking on doors to spread the word about the Compass. The volunteers hope the cookout and open house Thursday gave people a chance to preview the programs at Compass.
"We don't have a set agenda," said Barbara Sedanik, a volunteer who is also running the girls support group. "You don't have to be a Methodist or Christian to be here. We're trying to reach out to the community."
