Covenant News

New Enabling Residence Planned in Florida

OVIEDO, FL (February 24, 2005) - Construction could start as early as summer on the Covenant Enabling Residences of Florida, says Kurt Miericke, superintendent of the Southeast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

The residences will be home to six adults in their twenties who have developmental disabilities. They will be located in Deland, Florida, where land was purchased last August. The residences provide around-the-clock care to residents in a Christian environment. Staff members teach the skills and self-confidence needed to become economically and physically independent.

Miericke says the conference doesn't want to start building until enough money has been raised to pay for the entire project. Another $100,000 is needed to complete the building. Donations already have come from several sources, Miericke says. Women Ministries had set aside $37,000, and an estate donated $70,000. Community Covenant Church of St. Petersburg gave the conference $130,000 from the sale of assets when the church closed. The conference hopes to raise $50,000 a year to keep down costs for residents, Miericke says, adding, "we don't want anyone not going there because they can't afford it."

Miericke says he is excited to see the actual construction date getting closer, as the project has been in the planning stages for years. "We hope this is the first of several we can do," Miericke says, noting that it is the first residence south of Chicago. Miericke says the help of the Covenant Ministries of Benevolence especially that of Harold Spooner, director of outreach ministries, has been invaluable.

The Covenant has three other enabling residences - Bjorklund House and Independence Place in Oak Forest, Illinois; Mary's and Joseph's House in Muskegon, Michigan; and Our Place in Duluth, Minnesota.

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