community
april6
2017
Churches Helping Churches
“When we heard the news our hearts were
touched and we put ourselves in their shoes and thought
about what that might be like if it was us,” added Grace
assistant pastor Mark Brown.
Pense has been the Pastor at the Vernonia
Foursquare Church for 13 years after moving from St.
Helens with his wife Mary Lou. “One of the reasons
we came here was because this church was vacant and
they needed a pastor,” says Pense. “I left my job as
head custodian at Scappoose High School and came
here and went to work for the City of Vernonia in their
Public Works Department, which put me even more in
touch with the community, especially after the flood in
2007 and all the clean-up.”
According to Pense, the Foursquare Church
has been meeting in their current location for approxi-
mately 35 years. The building dates back to 1925 and
has been home to numerous businesses over the years.
Following the flood in 2007, the church served as the
Head Start classroom during the weeks after that build-
ing was damaged.
Pense says he was surprised and somewhat
shocked when he was told the District did not plan
to invest any more money in the building, but he
understands the decision.
“In a way I’m relieved and this was a necessary
decision,” says Pense, “because we could have just
continued on, spending money or we might have had
something disastrous happen.”
Pense says the church will be taking some
of their equipment with them when they move to the
Grace Chapel, but are planning to liquidate the contents
of the building through a community sale, beginning on
the Saturday before Easter.
With just three weeks to make the move, Pense
has begun emptying closets, sorting through boxes that
have been in the building for decades, and inventorying
what the current building holds, deciding what can go
with them when they move, and what they need to get
rid of.
After the building is empty it will be
demolished and the lot, along with the empty lot next
door that belongs to the church, will be sold. “The
Foursquare District’s thought is to get these lots back
onto the City’s tax rolls,” says Pense, “which would not
be a bad thing, considering how many lots the City lost
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continued from front page
A failing
foundation,
sagging roof,
and other
structural
issues led the
Foursquare
District
Supervisor
to decide the
Vernonia
congregation
needed to
abondon
their building
on Madison
Avenue.
Grey Dawn Gallery
after the 2007 flood.”
Pense describes his small congregation as,
“... a strong group in their commitment to one another
and in being faithful to the church with their tithes
and offerings.” Pense says his group also supports
numerous missions around the world.
“”Our churches have seen eye-to-eye on that
purpose of mission outside ourselves and into the com-
munity and trying to reach people who are hurting and
need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ,” said Mc-
Callum about Grace Family Fellowship and Pense’s
Foursquare Church.
This is not the first time that the Grace Family
Fellowship Church has responded to a need at the
Foursquare Church. When Pense’s wife Mary Lou
passed away on June 30, 2015, McCallum announced
her passing from the pulpit the following Sunday and
then led 99 of his followers as they walked over to
support Pense and worship with his congregation in
their church. “It was very moving,” says Pense.
Pense noted that following that event the two
churches came together to help paint the Vernonia
Community Learning Center. “It started something
that has mobilized into something more,” says Pense.
“We want to work together for the common
goal of reaching people with the love of Jesus Christ,”
added McCallum, “and not worrying about competing
with one another but doing what the Lord told us to do,
help our brother in his time of need. We can accom-
plish so much more working together than we can on
our own.”
While Pense appears disappointed in the
Foursquare Church District’s decision to not invest
in the current building, he says he does not feel like
his congregation has been abandoned by the District.
He says the Supervisor spent time visiting potential
locations that the church could relocate to, and is
interested in helping them find a permanent home. ”It’s
just so wonderful that we have a place to go to,” says
Pense. “The place where we meet has been taken away
and we needed a safe place... a place where we can
have time to heal. Right now I think we have a very
suitable place and hopefully our congregations will
complement each other.”
Pastor Carl Pense and the Vernonia Foursquare
Church will be meeting at 10:30 on Sunday mornings
at the Grace Chapel, 358 A Street, will hold Ladies
Group at 5:30 on Thursdays, and Bible Study at 6:30
on Thursdays.
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