Stories to Inspire...

Helping as many as possible

In Royersford, Open Door Ministries changed an old store into a service center.

By Susan Weidener

Philadelphia Inquirer Suburban Staff

ROYERSFORD - The Rev. Paul Thornhill had a vision.

It was simple, he said.

"I wanted a place to help as many people with as many activities as possible," said Thornhill, who is pastor of the Royersford Church of the Nazarene.

Open Door Ministries was born in this old factory town on the Schuylkill. Now it is almost like community central in the former Allen's Variety store on Main Street, home to Open Door.

Youths from the Spring-Ford School District drop by the teen lounge to play pool, and elementary school children can get free tutoring in math and language arts. By month's end, computer instruction will be available for seniors. At the thrift store, people browse among housewares and old sheet music.

The clothes closet and food pantry are open to anyone in need from Montgomery County and northern Chester County; some days, the clothes are given away. Food is distributed through the Philadelphia Food Bank.

On a recent day, Thornhill was unpacking donated clothes. He thanked a volunteer tuning the piano and talked to the people who lead the various activities.

"Pastor Paul would give you the shirt off his back," Laurie Faust, thrift shop manager, said. "He is the most caring person I have ever known."

Thornhill, 56, answers to the call of "Boss" or "Pastor Paul." Sometimes people come in to browse and sometimes just to talk about the things that are troubling them, Faust said, and Pastor Paul is always there.

For his part, Thornhill says simply, "I'm a hands-on pastor."

Two years ago, a parishioner went to Thornhill and told him that the store building on Main Street was for sale. The church bought it for $150,000. Now Open Door is administered through the nonprofit Royersford Outreach Inc., which has a $200,000 annual operating budget supported by local foundations and donations and thrift shop sales.

A native of Louisville, Ky., Thornhill came to Montgomery County with his wife, Sharon, from Kansas City 18 years ago.

He always wanted to help people who did not have much. "My father was an alcoholic, and there was a lot we went without," he said.

He stops to talk to Elmo Salang, 77, who lives in Golden Age Manor, senior housing up on Main Street. Salang was browsing among the Christmas decorations, selecting green and gold candles. "Things here are cheap," he said with a grin.

There are penny candy displays, sodas, milk, bread and eggs, ice cream, a simple array of canned goods. The borough required that Open Door sell food, as the old Allen's Variety did, so that nearby residents could still walk there to do their shopping.

Bob Umstead, who has been borough manager for 17 years, said Open Door draws mainly from the town. "It serves a useful purpose," he said. "There are some people who need assistance, and they are providing that in the form of food and clothing."

The building is a study in recycling. A box of baby clothes is slated for African children with AIDS. Packages of new white socks are going to Africa, too, donated by Graterford Prison. A rare Fisher-Price toy dog is sold for $9; most of the assorted items stacked on shelves and elsewhere go for as little as 50 cents.

"I was never one to throw things away if they could be used again," Thornhill said.

As for Open Door, the vision that started out so simply is now a thriving enterprise for those in need. "If I had to do it over, I would do it exactly the same way," Thornhill said. "This is a godsend."

Provided by: The Inquirer, 120 N. High St., West Chester, Pa. 19380