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Quite a woman, quite a gift

People have money for everything, but skimp with giving to the church," Lillian Ogden says. She chose not to.

By MICHELLE JONES
Published July 22, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Lillian Ogden lives by the adage that she came into this world with nothing and will leave with nothing. She's building her treasures in heaven.

On Sunday, the congregation at Bible Baptist Church had a groundbreaking ceremony for the Lillian Ogden Christian Life Center.

"Lillian is a faithful member of the church," said the Rev. John Reinholt. "She loves the Lord and is willing to give her money to glorify the Lord."

The building will house a recreation center for the children in the community, "to get them off the streets for afterschool activities," Reinholt said. "It will have full-size gym, a workout room, craft room, billiards and shuffleboard. We want to reach both the old and the young."

Ogden said she wanted to do something permanent for the Lord.

She gave a large amount of money to help with the construction of the building. (Reinholt did not want to make the amount public.) But that's not all that Ogden has done over the years.

She moved to New Port Richey with her husband, Gordon, 44 years ago. She joined Bible Baptist Church a year or two after her husband passed away 15 years ago.

"One Sunday in church the pastor said that he knew there was someone in the church who could take over the 13 percent (interest rate) mortgage and the church could pay them," she said. "I told him I needed to talk to him the next day, and he told me, when I came in, that he knew what I was coming in to talk about."

Ogden turned in some of her investments and paid off the high-interest mortgage.

"They paid me back each month and even paid if off early," she said.

Ogden saved the church $4,000.

"People have money for everything, but skimp with giving to the church," she said. "Someday we are going to give account for what we give and the Lord will be the judge."

Once a Catholic, Ogden met and married her husband in Baltimore in 1956. During World War II, she was a crane operator on the East Shore of Maryland. Before that she worked at a biscuit factory for $15 a week. At an ammunition plant she earned 90 cents an hour lifting and moving antiaircraft equipment. She said she worked 10 hours a day, seven days a week.

"I grew up on a farm and was used to hard work," she said. "Once there was a fire on the crane and I had to put it out with a fire extinguisher."

After moving to Pasco County, she drove a school bus for 18 years. At 86, she still mows her own lawn and rides a two-wheel bike.

Her only daughter died at 45, leaving Ogden two grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She loves to tell people about Jesus Christ.

"I witnessed to the man who fixed my water softener," she said. "I told him, you got to be a coach to your daughters."

Reinholt and his wife, Polly, have been married for 50 years. He has been the pastor of the New Port Richey independent Baptist church for 23 years. Previously, he was pastor of a church in Michigan for 16 years.

"We are trying to build this center without ever borrowing money," he said. "We are going to have a memorial walkway paved with names on the walkway to honor people or in memory of someone. That will help raise funds."

[Last modified July 21, 2006, 21:06:17]