The Pines Chapter was among those chosen to have a house built in our area.  We will be partnering with Habitat for Humanity of Moore County.  While this Habitat organization is headquartered in Moore County, it plans to also build homes this year in Richmond County.

A location and a family have already been chosen for our house.  It will be a 1,250 square foot home with three bedrooms and one and one half baths and will be built in Pinebluff, North Carolina.

This three way partnership involves commitments from each party.  The estimated cost of the home is $80,000 and Thrivent will fund 65% or $52,000.  The Habitat share of the funding will be 25% or $20,000 and our Chapter must raise the remaining $8,000.  Some of you have already received special offering envelopes for this program.

In addition to funding for the home here in the Sandhills, a percentage will be contributed to an international building project as is the case with every Habitat built home.  This percentage will cover the cost of almost two additional international houses.

As we are sure you know the Habitat family that will own the house will be required to spend a number of volunteer hours on the building of its home or another one in the area.  This “sweat equity” is an integral part of the Habitat plan.

We also have a volunteer hours requirement. 50% of the hours necessary to build the house (approximately 500) must be by Lutherans with 125 hours completed by Thrivent Members.  These hours can be done by people of all ages.  Church groups can arrange meals on site, youth groups can put in a fun day and adults (with or without prior building skills) can easily find jobs to do.  All will work in safety under a seasoned crew leader. Workdays will be Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The kickoff for this house will be held on February 24, 2007, at 8:00 in the morning.  By mid-afternoon, there will be walls in place.  The house should be completed and dedicated in June. If you can help, please contact Emily Ross at Habitat at 910-295-1934 or (specialprojects@moorehabitat.org).  

Watch for fund raising events in your area. Since Thrivent is funding the project, contributions for the project are not be eligible for supplemental funds.

We expect that each of the five congregations in the Chapter will appoint a “Thrivent Builds Champion” to do local coordinating.  Watch for this announcement.

The officers leading the Pines Chapter this year are: Debbie Schumm, President; Cathie Nichols, Vice President; Patty Peeples, Records Director; Nan Cunningham, Financial Director; Susan Evans, Congregational Sevice Team Dir.; Don Barcus, Community Service Team Dir.; David Campbell, Thrivent Builds Chapter Specialist.

Watch your mail and your congregation's newsletters and bulletins for other projects and activies sponsored by the Pines Chapter and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Also visit our website, www.lutheransonline.com/pineschapter for more information.