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Mission worker shares gift of the heart
By JON WILSON
© St. Petersburg Times,
She probably will drive around in her 1993 Ford, collecting more clothes donated to the poor. She will spy a house for rent and scribble the address on a paper plate. She knows that before long, someone will be looking for a place to stay. Rowland, 62, gets things done for the ailing, the homeless, the unwanted and the loathed. "People turn to her, and she's ready to help," said Doug McMahon, pastor at Woodlawn Presbyterian Church, home of a longtime mission ministry. "You are supposed to grow where you are planted," Rowland said. "Look around at the needs right here." Led by what she believes was a gift of the heart, Rowland first began doing mission work a dozen years ago, picking up clothes donated for the needy. "I beg and borrow and nag," she said. ASAP, Alpha House and CASA have been among the agencies benefiting. Pretty soon, Rowland was collecting furniture. "People might move into an unfurnished house and need things." That led into the food aspect, collecting canned goods and also helping to serve meals at downtowns sites such as the Refuge, the City Hall parking lot, and recently, St. Vincent de Paul. Steve Kersker, the city's advocate at-large for mentally disabled and homeless people, says Rowland is someone who knows how to get things done or, if not, whom to call for help. Not long ago at St. Vincent de Paul, the evening meal didn't show up on time. "Nobody was complaining or grumbling," Rowland said, but people were hungry. This time, Rowland called on her husband, Joe, who helps out at the meals. He suggested appealing to a higher power. "Peanut butter was what came up from the prayer," Hope Rowland said. They found some stored in a closet where Kersker stores snacks. "Me and four homeless men made peanut butter sandwiches," Hope Rowland said. She also finds time to write a column for Woodlawn Presbyterian's newsletter, the Window. Much of the column contains mission news. "I try to encourage people to do something," she said. "There's just so much joy that comes from giving, and I don't think a lot of people understand that." * * * HOPE ROWLAND Married, two adult children, eight grandchildren Age: 62 Occupation: Mission outreach Interests: Mission work and grandchildren. Writing a children's book, The Pond Babies, "a critters book," Rowland says. Last book read: The Positive Power of Jesus Christ, by Norman Vincent Peale. Quote: "I have a way of looking at work people do in the mission field as being a heart condition. Most of the time (it refers) to someone who is ill, but I think more importantly, a heart condition is practicing two verses in the Bible, one where Jesus says, "What you do unto the least of us, you do unto me,' and the other, He gave the commandment, "Love your neighbor,' and there were no strings attached."
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