An open house at the new Scott’s Run Settlement House facility in Cheat Lake on Saturday celebrated the organization’s century-long history of community service, while looking forward to the future.
Over 50 curious community members stopped by 750 Fairchance Road for a look inside the new SRSH location, which recently moved into the space formerly occupied by the Cheat Lake United Methodist Church.
The settlement house received the building at no cost from the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church and began services there in June.
SRSH Board President Jessica Bright said since she joined the board of directors in 2021, “the constant has been change.”
Changes to programs, COVID adjustments, leadership and staff changes, “and now with a new building, we have a change in location,” she said.
“Over the few years I’ve been able to be a part of this board, the issue of the building has always been lurking in the corner. It was one we knew we would have to deal with one day and kept putting it off a little bit.”
Bright said the board knew significant investments were eventually going to be needed to keep it functional, but those investments would pull funds away from programs. Moving would also be costly, and they had to consider the emotional ties to the Osage community and the building that has served many purposes for the community over the years.
So, when SRSH was approached about the gift of a new building, “the board recognized that type of opportunity may never come around again,” Bright said. “We knew a new facility would support the work of our mission for the next 100 years.”
The Rev. Amber Baker, former pastor of Cheat Lake UMC and current pastor at Fairview UMC, said that no pastor wants to dissolve their congregation and close the church, but knowing the space is still used to serve the community is a true blessing for the former parishioners.
“I do find it lucky that we are here today to be able to say that the congregation may have dissolved, but the church did not stop and that was definitely something of divine participation when all of this came together,” Baker said.
During the transition to Cheat Lake there may have been some more divine intervention at play when a water line break at the original Lady Bug Drive location in Osage caused flooding and damage along with the loss of at least seven refrigerators/freezers and multiple shelves of food. Fortunately, the group had already moved around 85% of pantry items to the new building.
Executive Director Michael Richard said they are hoping repairs to the century-old Osage building will begin soon.
“Whenever you deal with insurance and damage there’s always going to be delays with that. But the water itself has been removed. It’s pretty much down to the subfloor and studs. We are working on getting the repairs going. The HVAC system is still down so we’re still working on that,” he said.
“But the process continues and as soon as we get the go-ahead from the insurance to do that then we’ll start with the repairs and putting it back to how it was before the water damage.”
During Saturday’s open house, which was also live-streamed on the group’s Facebook page, visitors learned a little about the 103-year history of SRSH and were able to view some photos and memorabilia collected by the group throughout the century.
“I can’t help but think about the first women who started all of this,” said featured speaker Bishop Sandra Steiner-Ball of the West Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, “and wonder what they’re doing now as they recognize that the chair of the board is a woman, the district superintendent (the Rev. Amy Shanholtzer) is a woman, and the bishop is a woman.
“They probably never could have imagined the day when all of that would actually take place,” she said of the members of the Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Morgantown who began programs in 1922 to help house and feed the growing immigrant population.
Following the presentation, Richard led the group through a tour of the new area and some of the renovations that have been made and talked about what’s planned to accommodate the purposes of the food pantry, including additional office space and modification of the former sanctuary area with added shelving and electrical for refrigerators and freezers.
“We’re still getting there,” Richard said. “We’ve been open about a month and working out the few issues that we’ve had with it, but it’s been good.”
Richard said those who have come since they opened have seen the direct benefits of the new location’s space and opportunity for expansion and new programs like a community garden that is in the works.
“It’s been a lot of hard work with our staff and volunteers and community partners, but we’re really happy to have this location to be able to further help the county.”
Richard said the community’s support of their mission is what keeps the organization going and was pleased with the number of people who turned out for the open house.
“It means a lot. Everything we do is to help the community and we couldn’t do anything without having the support of the community, so it’s very nice to see everyone take time out of their busy day on a beautiful Saturday to come and spend time with us,” he said.
If the open house does nothing else, Richard said he hopes that as people were walking around and seeing the services they offer, they will share the information to those who may need it.
“Even if we don’t provide a service, we will refer you to those that can get you the help you need,” he said. “So it means a lot to have this many people show up today and we always encourage people to stop by and see the facility and to volunteer as well. We’re blessed to have this new location.”
