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News Feature

Blue Hill
Originally published in The Weekly Packet, December 20, 2012
Local church looks to create jobs program for the community

by Faith DeAmbrose

A church is definitely a place of worship; there is no doubt about that. But, what about its larger role in the community? For the First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, taking care of the community and its needs is an ever present function and it intends to widen the net by facilitating a “jobs program” that will match homeowners with various professionals.

Aptly named “Jonathan’s Job Box” after the carpenter Jonathan Fisher, the program seeks to do the following: identify people in the community with jobs to be done; identify those in the community with some free time, especially (and ideally) those who have been out of work for an extended period of time—and then provide a way to match the two up in the hopes of having the jobs completed at a reasonable cost.

Church Pastor Rob McCall said he is mindful of the economic situations facing those in the community. Many homeowners are still struggling to find solid footing after a multi-year recession, and many others in the community have been out of work for a period of time. And sometimes people in the community have a number of odd jobs they need done, said McCall, adding that they are so small that finding a contractor to do them is difficult.

The jobs program is not limited to only carpentry, said McCall, and could include any trade or service for which a person has a skill. “There are many people in the community that have skills and not a lot of work,” said McCall, adding that it is why he is “putting the call out” to begin the program in earnest. “[The church] wants to help the community get through this,” said McCall of the economic downturn.

For those looking to participate in the program, call the church at 374-2892 or email bhcongo@yahoo.com. If you have a job that needs to be done, include a description of the job and your phone number. If you can work, include references and a phone number. Then, said McCall, we will screen and match you up to workout the details together.

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