Thrift Shop Church?

I've written before about the thrift shop where I work/volunteer several times before.  The shop financially supports the church that houses it as well as several other charitable organizations both locally and internationally.  It also supports the community and the world at large with donations that are not financial; towels/linens that cannot be sold are donated to a local pet shelter. Clothing that is not sold within a certain amount of time will be given to local shelters.  Families in need have been given household items.  And so it goes.

The thrift shop is part of the church's mission.  But thinking about it, the thrift shop is very much like a church itself.  There is no sermon of course, but there are so many other aspects that would fall under what a church (should) provide.  And maybe churches and other organizations ought to sit up and take note of the lessons that can be learned in the thrift shop.

 Like many churches today, the thrift shop is made up of predominantly of women.  Not to get into controversial territory (too late!), but women have, in my view, always been a force behind religion.  (I was going to say Christianity, but then I realized that it was more than that.) The volunteers range in age and Christian background.  Some of the women are active in Sunday worship; some are not.  Some are not members of the church and never were or will be.  There are retirees, those who work full time jobs (that would be me), those who have part time jobs.  Some are students.  (My son used to volunteer.)  Volunteers come and go, depending on life experience.  (For a personal perspective, when I was out of work 12 years ago just after the shop had come into being, I would work every day that the shop was over and then some.  Once my work situation changed, so did the time that I was able to put in and that was okay.)  All give their time and talent in different ways.  (See the parallels here between church and shop?)

All the volunteers have their own talents/specialties that they have naturally gravitated towards.  While there are times where we do things that are not our forte if we are short staffed or need to accomplish something in a given time set, for the most part we are left to our own devices.  For example, I am one of the women who deals with the clothing when it comes in.  Checking it out (clothes we cannot use are put in bags and donated to those in need), hanging them up and putting them in the appropriate place.  (We have different racks for different sizes and clothing items.)  This is what I (for the most part) enjoy.  I do not enjoy the check-out process, but there are people who do, so that's where they "work."  No one is trying to place a square peg into a round hole, as organizations sometimes do.  And amazingly, everyone does their own thing without supervision or micromanagement!  (Businesses take note!)  

We also, in the Christian tradition, break bread together.  No, it's not an official communion, but once or twice a year ALL who volunteer are invited to a shared meal.  All are welcome no matter how much time they dedicate to the shop.  ALL are welcome.

Volunteers come and go.  No one is "guilted" into volunteering and that is one of the things that makes the shop, and the volunteers, strong.  (Organizations take note.)  We are there because we WANT to be.  And if we are not there, it's okay too.  Vacations and breaks are recognized.  Everyone realizes that we have lives outside of the shop.  The lack of pressure to "be there" I think actually makes people want to be there more often!  Maybe that's because we all support one another.  We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.  We are there in times of sorrow.  We pray for each other.  (Prayer!  See, there is a religious component to the shop).

We also pray and care for those who come to shop.  We know many of the "regulars" by name; just as they know us by name.  If someone is out, they will ask about a person.  We know their likes and if an item comes in that we know that person would want, we might put it aside (temporarily).  Customers will help us when large donations are made.  (Believe me it's a haul from the back door of the church down the stairs to the large hall that hosts the shop.)  And they help without our asking.  They help us because we help them.  For the most part it is a supportive community, where we treat our neighbors as ourselves.  (Now, where have I heard that before?  Haven't I read that somewhere?  Could it be Mark chapter 12 verse 31?)

That is not to say that we don't have issues or problems.  Yes, there are people who will (try to) steal and cheat the shop.  We try to be nice.  We remind people that the money is not going to US, but to the church and it's missions.  (We even have a list of all the organizations we support...including other churches.)  We try to be polite; we try to be calm.  However, there are times when we have asked people NOT to come back.  You might think that is something that would NEVER be done in a church setting, but maybe it should.  If there is a person who is disrespectful and disruptive to the group as a whole and is not open to reasonable discourse, maybe that person is not in the right place.  (I know this is really controversial, but hey...While I believe that all are welcome and we don't have to agree on everything, we DO need to be respectful.)

The one thing we DON'T have that most religious communities do is a lot of committees and meetings.  As I stated previously, we pretty much "govern" ourselves.  There is the occasional email or group discussion, but for the most part common sense and kindness rule the day.  I appreciate that the powers that be in the church hierarchy tend to leave the group to their own devices (thank you!)  and as a result the shop has thrived. (We're going on 12 years!)

 Is thrift shop church a real thing?  Not really.  But it IS an important component of a mission that the church and the volunteers believe in.  It's a mission that the volunteers are passionate about and devoted to.  Serving in the thrift shop IS holy and spiritual.  (Or maybe I should say it can be.)  It is where the following verse is proven:   "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms."