Pine Island Community Church celebrates first anniversary
One year ago, Pastor Heidi Grusser had a dream about starting a new church on Pine Island. Although faced with a degree of scepticism, Grusser forged ahead with what she believed was God’s wish for her and the Pine Island community.
“We had our first service on Feb. 10 at the Flamingo Bay clubhouse and a total of 187 people attended. I was and am still always amazed at how quickly the number of our church family grew and in no time we had out grown our place in St. James City,” said Grusser. “After only a few weeks we moved to our current location at Pine Island Elementary School and, while some find it strange attending church in a school cafeteria, others find that it gives them a certain sense of freedom and does away with preconceived ideas as to what a church is. It is not about the building, it is about the people who gather in it.”
According to Grusser, each week presents something different and everyone who attends leaves the church with something special to carry them through the week.
“Our church is fun, and I try my best to keep it that way. I have been known to dress up in everything from camo to a football uniform to deliver the message of the week and those attending service seem to enjoy themselves,” said Grusser. “It is such an honor to be here on Pine Island and I could never have imagine that we would be where we are today. It is due to our church family and their commitment to the community.”
In addition to Sunday services and Bible studies, the Pine Island Community Church also has developed several community outreach programs.
Each Wednesday morning a mission group of 15 to 20 members gathers to address the needs of island residents.
“Each Wednesday morning we meet and just do what ever needs to be done. We have cleaned out rain gutters and done roof repairs and much more. We have not refused any request and anyone on the island in need of some help can come to us and ask and we will do whatever we can,” said Grusser.
The group also has done yard work, cleaned homes, washed window, built ramps for handicapped individuals and a variety of other tasks for island residents.
In addition to the Wednesday morning group, the Pine Island Community Church also has a youth group that meets each Sunday afternoon.
“During spring break, the kids will be helping with projects throughout the community for the first three days and as a reward, we will be taking them to Orlando for a day at Disney,” she said. “Many of these same kids also helped the Wednesday morning mission group during the summer doing chores and painting. They are great kids and really enjoy helping out their fellow islanders.”
The youth group also has raised money to support their mission work and to raise awareness about their church at events that included Taste of Pine Island, MangoMania and the Trunk or Treat program at Halloween.
The next task Grusser is attempting to undertake is a program that would help to feed some of the island residents.
“Right now, the Meals on Wheels program which is based in Fort Myers, provides meals for 17 island residents. It is our hope that we can feed these people from right here on the island, and I see no reason we can’t,” said Grusser. “It will just take some organizing and if each of the island churches provided meals just once a month, we could easily see to it that the Meals on Wheels customers are taken care of by people from their own community.”
At this time, an average of 200 people attend services at the non-denominational Pine Island Community Church on Sunday beginning at 10 a.m.
For more information about the church of to seek services provided by the Wednesday morning mission group, call the church office at 282-5616.