Lighting strike fires up Faith Lutheran Church member to repaint church
Seated in the choir during a worship service in late October, Delina Eisenhauer of Gorham had an epiphany. She would put her two passions – God and painting – to good use by repainting the interior of Faith Lutheran Church on Route 302 in Windham.
Six weeks later, after scraping and rolling and laying down drop clothes for many hours a day up to five days a week since Nov. 1, Eisenhauer is just now putting the finishing touches on the complete repainting of the church. Using appropriately titled paint colors like Humble Gold, Friendly White and Interactive Beige, Eisenhauer has painted the sanctuary, entryway, church kitchen, bathroom and the pastor’s office. There’s no surface this sprightly woman of 64 hasn’t painted in the church of about 30 regularly attending members.
The project wasn’t just a matter of having the church look prettier – as an end in itself – it was a conscious choice to improve appearances in order to attract new parishioners. With the recent loss of more than a dozen members, the repainting project was a must-do in the eyes of Eisenhauer.
“One day I was sitting thinking about the people who have recently left the church for one reason or another and it just kicked me in the pit of my stomach that we could lose the church,” Eisenhauer said. “So I had to do something and this place really needed some new paint.”
Eisenhauer’s pastor, Rev. David Thorp, says the project, which in total used about 20 gallons of paint, has lifted spirits and inspired the congregation to reach out more to their community. Eisenhauer’s effort was spurred on by helpers and people donating money to buy the paint. Sherwin Williams in North Windham, the source of the paint, even gave the church a deep discount.
“I think this project has just brought in a renewing spirit. You could say the colored walls have come to color our life,” Thorp said.
Eisenhauer has much experience painting. Whenever she’s bought a house, three in Maine and one in Southern California, she’s repainted each room, some several times over.
“It’s partly that I want to have the walls match the furniture, but I also like to have my personality show up in what I do,” Eisenhauer said. “Don’t you get tired of the same old thing? I do. You should repaint at least every five years.”
Before Eisenhauer came along with her paintbrushes, Faith Lutheran Church hadn’t been repainted since the mid-1980s. Walls had marks and “the building had a tired look,” according to the pastor. Eisenhauer came to accept the “tired look” but was overcome, she says, by the Holy Spirit while sitting in the choir that Sunday six weeks ago.
“You know when you first meet someone, appearance does make an impression. For good or for bad that’s true. But once you get to know someone it doesn’t matter what they look like. I think it was the same for me and this church. When I first came a few years ago I did notice the appearance but got used to it once I got to know and love the people here,” she said.
But a lightning strike that blackened a section of wall in the sanctuary this July changed Eisenhauer’s view. Lucky the church didn’t burn down, the lightning, she says, was a sign from God that the church needed to get its act together.
“That strike was a wake-up call for the church,” Eisenhauer said. “We’ve lost 17 active members through job transfers and three dying. We need new members. We need to turn things around because we don’t want to have to merge or disband because we can’t raise enough money to pay the pastor and keep the bills paid up.”
A few months ago, the church held a congregation-wide meeting where one elder predicted that the church would have to merge with an area Lutheran church within a year-and-a-half if donations kept on as usual.
“That meeting scared us. We want to grow and thrive. We have a great location. We just need to reach out further,” Eisenhauer said.
Eisenhauer and her pastor know appearances aren’t everything, but they say the makeover has led to “renewed energy, renewed commitment and people are giving more money,” Thorp said.
The church plans on building a Sunday School wing and institute new programs that will attract more members. Eisenhauer is involved in one such program that will offer a coffee gathering/reading group on Friday nights starting in February.
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