2021-08-18 Thrift Shop

A Ministry to Treasure: Our Church Thrift Shops

[E-Chronicle, August 25, 2021] On Wednesday, August 18, 2021, the Diocesan Support Center hosted an online gathering of representatives from each of the main islands involved with their church thrift shops. Led by Canon Sandy Graham and Danny Casey, the goal was to have folks share, discuss, and learn from each other, the challenges and joys in developing a successful ministry. Yes, "ministry." Although run like a business, the dedication and commitment of the shops' volunteers (and a few with paid employees) makes it a "treasured" ministry of our churches. Not only do these thrift shops raise significant dollars for church coffers, but offers an opportunity to reach out to the wider community.

Jeannie Savage, the Senior Warden of St. James' on the Big Island, and also a volunteer in their Thrift Shop & Boutique, gave high praise to Rona Scull, the shop's Executive Coordinator, who has empowered volunteers with "like mind and like heart" to minister to their customers and provide a wonderful shopping experience. Many of their volunteers are not church members, but grateful folks from the community. While making money is the goal of any thrift shop, for these volunteers, making connections and sharing a bit of joy is just as important.

The same goes with Christ Memorial's Helen Mitsui Shared Blessings Thrift Shop on Kaua'i. Susan Wright, whose husband and daughter are also actively involved with the shop, said that most of their volunteers are neighbors from the surrounding community, and also "snow birds" from the mainland who spend several months of the year on the Garden Island. They look forward to volunteering regularly whenever they are in town. With an extreme customer/donation base (residents, tourists, treasure hunters, estate sales), they move their high volume of inventory by keeping essential items at rock bottom prices, and a separate high-value section for "treasure hunters" with pricier collectibles. At the heart of this very successful shop is its namesake, Helen Mitsui (pictured at right). At 96, Helen has volunteered and run the store for over 35 years, and still comes in five days a week to price almost every item that goes out the door.

St. Augustine's on the Big Island has their own "Helen" in Hatsue Hayashi, who has been volunteering for over 20 years as the shop's manager. Unfortunately, the pandemic has taken a toll on the volunteer base of these thrift shops, most of whom are older retired individuals. John Sakai, the Bishop's Warden at St. Augustine's, said that with the surge in COVID cases, they decided to close in August and are considering reopening only to individuals who are vaccinated*. Several churches have also temporarily closed their thrift shops until the numbers go back down. In Honolulu, the Holy Nativity Thrift Shop has had a large and vibrant volunteer group, but the pandemic has also affected the turnout of many of their older volunteers.

But not all is doom and gloom in the time of a pandemic. Christ Memorial has seen their highest sales yet, and over on Maui, the Diocese's newest thrift store opened at Trinity By-the-Sea. Barbara Zipf shared that Trinity Treasures is doing well, but most of their volunteers are older and they are looking at ways to recruit more people.

On Moloka'i, Grace's thrift shop is a lifeline for many in their community, With only 7,000 residents on the tiny island, Grace has become an invaluable resource for providing essentials where shopping venues are limited. Their greatest challenge is trying to accommodate the needs of their community with only a handful of volunteers led by Fr. Jim Loughren.

Joining in the conversation were folks from St. John's, Kula, and A Cup of Cold Water (ACCW), the Diocese's mobile van ministry on Maui. Marilyn Hirashima said St. John's is exploring the possibility of getting a thrift shop started at their church. Currently, they hold an annual rummage sale, and take collections for ACCW. Deb and Trip Lynch, also from St. John's, had excellent questions for the experienced group that shared helpful advice and tips.

Closing out the session, Canon Sandy and Danny reminded everyone that the Diocesan Support Center is there to help them with their Human Resource and Accounting issues. As a non-profit business, there are employment laws, GE taxes to file, and items that they may be unaware of. *Canon Sandy mentioned that they have already run the question by the Chancellor about requiring shoppers/volunteers to be vaccinated, and more information will be forthcoming.

The group is interested in continuing regular online gatherings, and all interested in this rewarding ministry are invited to join in. Stay tuned to the Diocesan News E-Chronicle for future announcements on this treasure of a ministry! (View the entire Zoom session at right.)

Sybil Nishioka, Editor & Communications Contractor, Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i
Contributed photos