LOCUST GAP - Standing behind the pulpit he built, a wooden cross he also constructed behind him, Pastor James Bowers is ready to lead his congregation again.
Beginning Easter Sunday, Bowers' independent church, the Ministry of the Water and the Spirit, will hold services at its new home, the former St. Joseph's and, most recently, Union Evangelical Free Church.
It's a location Bowers and his wife, Janet, have had in mind for a long time. Fate led them there, they said, while they stood inside the building this week preparing for their first service.
"When this building first came up for sale, I tried to buy it, but we couldn't do it," Pastor Bowers said.
It was eventually purchased by Anthony Frank Guiffrida, a Brazilian real estate investor, who also purchased St. Joseph's Church in Mount Carmel. Bowers was hired as caretaker for both places.
"He found a soft spot for the church, so he donated the use of the building to us for now," the pastor said. "It will be great, because there is no church in Locust Gap."
Four-year hiatus
Sunday's service marks the first time that James Bowers will be back behind the pulpit in four years. He had to give up his last church, located in a building at Sunbury and Rock streets in Shamokin, for health reasons.
"I wanted to keep preaching, but I developed blood clots in my lungs, so I had to leave the church to take care of my health," he said.
It didn't stop him from caring for others, however. He and Janet established God's Chuckwagon mobile soup kitchen, which sets up on Oak Street in Mount Carmel on Monday evenings and on Independence Street in Shamokin on Tuesday evenings. Janet Bowers said God's Chuckwagon served 140 meals in Shamokin last week and nearly 100 in Mount Carmel.
The couple hopes to establish a fellowship kitchen in Locust Gap, too.
To help support God's Chuckwagon, the basement of their new church has been turned into a thrift store, with an "indoor yard sale" held every Friday and Saturday.
The Bowers also continue to pursue their dream of purchasing a bus that will be used as a traveling soup kitchen. They have placed a $500 deposit on a 72-passenger bus.
"We just need $2,500 more," the pastor said.
'This is God's house'
Those goals are in the future, but a new chapter for the Ministry of the Water and the Spirit begins Sunday when Pastor Bowers takes his place behind the homemade pulpit. He said everyone is welcome, including those who have no church or perhaps those who feel out of place at their current church.
"I had one person tell me they were asked to leave the church because they had pink hair," he said. "It doesn't matter what you look like or how you dress; this is God's house and everyone is welcome."