Conference fills Hagerstown pool

By MELISSA LAUBER
UMCONNECTION STAFF

Day after day, as the thermometer rose to close to 100 degrees this summer, the children at the Memorial Recreation Center in Hagerstown splashed and played in a pool filled by the people of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. 

“It wasn’t necessarily a life-saver, but it was a soul-saver. That pool brought relief from the heat and fun beyond measure,” said conference Director of Missions Sandy Ferguson. “This is our apportionment dollars at work – delivering joy.”

The $3,000 grant from the conference was provided to several Hagerstown churches that belong to HARC, the Hagerstown Area Religious Council.

Earlier this year, HARC was meeting at the Memorial Recreation Center and heard about its need. The center offers a summer camp at their facility to children in the Jonathan Street corridor, but didn’t have enough money this year to fill the pool.

The United Methodists requested a grant from the conference from money set aside for community ministries.

“The money allowed us to fill the pool and provide the chemicals that are keeping it clear and blue all summer long. You have no idea how much this means to the children in Hagerstown,” said Loretta Wright, director of the summer camp program. About 120 children swim each week. In addition to the camp children, the Big Brother and Big Sisters program also uses the pool.

“It’s made a big, big difference,” said Wright.

“There’s a strong possibility that without this camp and this pool here 99 percent of the kids would have no place else to go,” said Gil Thurston, a member of Washington Square UMC.

The Rev. Rick Jewel, pastor of John Wesley UMC, agreed. “The pool has kept kids off the streets this summer, which has been one of the hottest in many years. It was a pressing need that the people of The United Methodist Church were able to answer.”