The People of Gather

Theresa B.

“This is what I tell people about Gather - this is a church that practices what it preaches, that lives the life of Jesus. And I love it.” – Theresa

If you’ve ever been to Gather, chances are you have been loved by Theresa. Even if you haven’t met her, you’ve enjoyed the cookies she bakes every week. And, the only thing better than one of Thereas’s cookies is one of her hugs. Theresa has lived an amazing life – too much to be contained in a single post. So, here is part one…

“How I ended up at Gather is an interesting story. I was living with my mother in Tacoma, up on Hilltop. And I was going to church and taking care of her. She has nine children. Of the nine, she and I butt heads the most, or did. But, I was the one that could live with her the longest. So, I was living with her, and I was trying to set boundaries. And, one time, I had to remove her hand from my door jam. She stepped back, tripped over her walker, fell down. She called my niece and told her that I pushed her down. My niece called the Tacoma Police Department. I was arrested for domestic violence - and spent Fourth of July weekend in the Tacoma jail. When I got out, I was informed over the phone, by my sister in North Carolina, that I was not allowed to go back in the house. My keys were waiting for me outside in the mailbox.

I was homeless at 64 years old. Not a drug addict. Not abused. I was this very normal person. I mean, I had social Security. Yeah… And, I was homeless. I was homeless for a year – and, during that year, I only slept in my car seven nights, always in safe places. So… I was okay. God blessed me the whole time.

That was in July. My mother died that October. In November, I was given her dog. My roommate had a cat, they couldn't get along, so I had to take the dog somewhere. My niece that lives outside Elbe, they have like three and a half acres, and she said they would take him. So when I took the dog up, and I'm looking at her house and everything, I jokingly said, “Oh, I should come, too.” She's like, “Well, you're welcome.” Well, I went home, back to Olympia. It lasted two days. Called my niece and said, "Did you really mean that?" 
She said, "Yes." So, I moved in with her in November.

They took me in so I wouldn't be sleeping in the streets or in a house full of people doing drugs. I mean, I knew I had to get out when my roommate knew what day my Social Security came. And, “Well, is your money in the bank yet? Can you pay me? Can you drive me to the pot shop?” When I'm not even awake yet? I'm the only one in the household providing any money, any income, but I'm sleeping on the couch with holes in it - in a three-bedroom trailer. So, I just, I knew I needed to get out of there. Then I went to my niece’s and it's just - it got comfortable. I had Social Security; I had food stamps. They had this - my nephew, Tony, is like a contractor who rebuilds houses, so they have this amazing kitchen and house. I basically had my own bathroom. It was wonderful.

By May, I had gotten too comfortable. I had stopped looking for housing, I had stopped. I quit calling about apartments. I quit calling. But, I just - I just knew in myself, somewhere in my soul, that it wasn't where I belonged. And, my nephew-in-law kept saying, "You’re family. You’re family. You’re family.” One thing that I’m truly thankful for is they gave me back my self-confidence. My family threw me out, but my family brought me back. They're the ones that helped me. Yeah. They just gave to me unconditionally. And in all that, it still didn't feel right. With all that love, it didn't feel right. I felt like I was becoming a burden. I just knew it wasn’t where I belonged. And so, I called for help in Olympia, and they said, "You're in Lewis County. Call Gather Church.” So, I called Gather Church. And, I don’t remember who I talked to, but he said to start the process, I may have to go into a shelter. My nephew threw a fit. “No, this is your home, you don't have to go to a shelter.” But, Gather told me, “Yes, we'll help you.” I took a nap that day, and I swear, I swear that God spoke to me. I heard his voice in my head, saying, "Trust me, follow my path. Just trust me." I was raised Catholic, serious, my whole life. But, I think that was when my faith started. And I said, “Okay.”

So, that was like the middle of May, and June 7th, I went into the shelter on Tower Street. And, then Todd walked into my life. We met and he said, “I don’t mean to be, ya know… but, can I ask your age?” And I said, “Oh, I'm 65.” And he's like, “Okay, I have an apartment I want you to apply for.” 
Well, I’d only been in the shelter about a month. Okay, okay, here it is: an apartment. I come over and get this application and Todd said, “Fill it out, bring it back to me.” So, the woman that was in charge of the shelter helped me with the wording. I turned it in, and three weeks later, I had my own apartment.

So, June 7th, I went to the shelter. August 4th, I moved out. God blessed me. I mean, I had a roommate I hated. [Haha] I mean, I didn't hate her. I just. She drove me nuts. And then I met Jay at the shelter, and we were friends. Well, he started coming to church, wanted me to go to church. So, okay, I'll go to church with you. And I heard things. I mean, when I was in the shelter, Todd had said, " You don't have to do good works to get into heaven." Well, that's a total... I'm sorry, that's not true. That's you know… So, I'm not going to this church. Okay, well, I can understand that concept, but still, no, that's not the way the world works. But, okay, I’ll try this church. And, I kept coming to church.

So, yeah. And I just... I saw a church - and this is what I tell people about Gather - this is a church that practices what it preaches, that lives the life of Jesus. And I love it. I learn something new every day, and every Saturday when we have services, I come back with a different message. And if somebody said, who's the best pastor? I couldn't tell you. No. There isn't a best pastor. They all have different ways of getting the message across, and they all teach me something. So that's how I ended up at Gather!

But to hear his voice in my head so strong… you know, I'd been Catholic, I'd practiced Mormon. I, ya know, but with all that, I don't think that I began a relationship with God till I actually told him, “I trust you, and I'm going to follow your path." And he led me here. In a roundabout way, but I'm here. And, I’ve been here almost 4 years.