After losing the Milford United Methodist Church earlier this year to arson — and with it the church’s food pantry and free clothing exchange program — several groups have banded together to reinstate the church’s outreach efforts and create a space for the community to enjoy.
West 1566 Community Center, at 85 N. Main St. and formerly the Milford American Legion, will open officially with a ribbon-cutting Friday at 6 p.m. State Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, a longtime member of Milford United Methodist Church, will be on hand for the ceremony.
The Rev. Sylvia Barrett with Milford United Methodist said the idea to launch a full-fledged community center came from the April relocation of the food pantry, necessitated by the March 12 church fire.
“At that time we desperately needed a place to put our clothing exchange and food pantry,” Barrett explained. “The American Legion had the building and I’m good friends with the commander (Bob Moore) and we got talking and he said, ‘No problem at all.’”
Given the ample space available, said Barrett, she was spurred to ask Moore about making the one-time post the permanent home of the pantry and exchange.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be a wonderful place to hold them permanently, especially as (the American Legion) is not using the building?’” Barrett said. “And now they have generously donated the building to us.”
In the intervening months, Barrett said, she began the process of gaining 501(c)3 nonprofit status. She noted, “That has just gone through and we’ve just been given our certification.”
In addition to the food pantry and clothing exchange, known as Suzie’s Magic Closet, both housed on the building’s lower level, Barrett said, the upper level of the center will be open to community fundraisers, dances, senior suppers, birthday parties, receptions and other events.
Noting that Friday’s ceremony will be two-fold, Barrett said, “It’s really a double celebration — that we’ve found a permanent home for the food pantry but also that we’ve got a place people can use and rent out.” She added, “It’s turning out to be a real bonus for the community. We want to make it into a place that people really want to come and see as their place to be.”
Beyond its new name, Barrett said, West 1566 Community Center has undergone a recent face-lift.
“It’s been renovated and looks really lovely,” Barrett said, citing improvement projects initiated by several Milford groups, including the town’s Rotary Club. “The community has really rallied.”
President of the Milford Rotary Club Lola Rathbone said the 14-member club became involved after the relocation of the food pantry.
“Pretty soon after that we realized there was an accessibility problem for people to get into the food pantry,” Rathbone explained, “so we immediately applied for a grant from the Rotary District and found out in June that we had been awarded $2,300 to build a handicap access ramp.”
She said the ramp, plans for which were approved by the center’s board of directors Wednesday night, will be built “sometime later this fall.”
Noting that the Rotary District grant is the first the Milford club receives, Rathbone said, “We’re really thrilled with it.”
Barrett said the newly appointed board of directors includes representation from Milford’s fire department and women’s auxiliary, the American Legion, the Rotary and more.
“Everybody that’s important in Milford is represented," she said, "and we’re all very excited.”
The decision to become involved with the center and the church’s growth, Rathbone said, was a natural one for Milford Rotarians.
“It’s definitely one of our missions to improve our community,” Rathbone said, “and it seems like the Community Center is already doing that.”
She added, “It’s a great idea with lots of potential and the Rotary is going to help out in any way it can.”
Such “overwhelming support,” Barrett said, has been reaffirming and continual since the March fire.
“It’s an exciting time to be a United Methodist in this area, there’s no doubt about it,” she said, adding, “And it’s such a very moving time for me … to be part of (a) community that showed how much they cared and care about each other. It’s a wonderful thing.”
Updates on the church can be found through the Milford United Methodist Church Facebook page.
