A group of teenagers from the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Midlothian recently spent four days on the Eastern Shore making repairs to homes.
The group was led by Churchill Pinder, 72, an Episcopal priest who moved to the Eastern Shore two years ago but who has a connection to the area that dates back 50 years.
Although he has led youth groups on similar missions for over 25 years, Pinder coordinated this trip with ESVA Housing Mission, a group formed in late 2024 to provide critical home repairs for those in need.
“Wherever I have been, I have enjoyed working with youth on home repair projects to show them the value of service to others and that ministry can take place outside the church walls,” Pinder said. “I was looking for a group to coordinate projects, and I was put in touch with the ESVA Housing Mission. It’s a great fit.”
“It warms your heart to see youth leaving home to travel to help others they don’t even know,” said Don Taylor, the ESVA Housing Mission board advisor who helped form the organization. “The team from near Richmond are the hands and feet of Christ acting on their faith. We can all learn from these examples.”
Most of the repairs to four homes ranging from Parksley to Cape Charles involved floor repairs, roof repairs, and railing and steps, all measures to improve the safety of the homes.
One of the goals of ESVA Housing Mission is to prevent falls, one of the leading causes of death and major hospital costs for the elderly.
“Sometimes we all take what we have for granted,” said Isabelle Hanback, who helped with floor repairs at the home of Joyce Fedderson. “Being able to help someone in need makes me appreciate the blessings I have. It also allows me to bond and make a stronger connection with my friends at church and get to know them so much better.”
The repairs that ESVA Housing Mission volunteers make are appreciated by homeowners as well.
“I had a roof that leaked and then the floor was so rotten my grandson stepped through right at the front door,” said Fedderson, 67. “I didn’t know what to do but just leave it in God’s hands. And these kids are answering my prayers by fixing everything.”
Steve Schmidt, an engineer and one of three adult supervisors with the youth group, noted their church on Salisbury Road in Midlothian was actually founded by Pinder’s father, the Rev. Joe Pinder, in 1960.
“These youth missions to help people in need are intended to teach service to others,” said Schmidt. “The kids also raise money for pilgrimages. Last year it was Ireland; next year will be Italy.”
Jeff Pond, another supervisor who is a risk management consultant, said fundraising is almost a year-round activity to pay for service trips and missionary journeys.
“We have this huge rummage sale at our church which features antiques, furniture, and many other items,” he said. “It’s a big fundraiser, and the planning for the next one starts almost the day after it is held.”
Pond estimated the church enrollment is about 350.
The church youth included six boys and three girls between ages 14 and 17, with Schmidt and Pond as supervisors, plus Tara Keegen, who proved handy with tools for the repair jobs.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Onancock hosted the youth group, who brought sleeping bags and portable beds that were set up in two rooms. They also cooked their own meals at the church.
Long line of Episcopal priests
Rev. Pinder is a fifth-generation Episcopal priest who grew up in Richmond but who has served churches on Long Island, N.Y., and in Maryland and Pennsylvania. His very first parish was in Baker City, Ore., where he gave the sermon in sign language to deaf parishioners. He studied sign language at seminary because his sister had lost her hearing.
In 1977, his parents retired to the Eastern Shore, where they lived in a van while Pinder and his brother built a house under the guidance of his father on the banks of Pungoteague Creek.
“I was able to study in England for a year after graduating from high school and then went to the University of Virginia,” Pinder recalled. “I explored several careers and as I began to focus on going to seminary, my brother and I took off a year and built a house for our parents as my father was retiring and had little pension support. It was a wonderful experience, and it has allowed me to add ‘builder’ to my resume when needed.”
Pinder, who in addition to being a parish priest for 32 years was the dean at St. Stephen’s Cathedral and School in Harrisburg, Pa., for 10 years, has put that building experience to good use the past quarter century by leading youth groups on home repair mission trips and is grateful to have found a new partner in the ESVA Housing Mission.
“I never tire of witnessing young participants surprise themselves at how much they can accomplish when given the opportunity,” Pinder said.
His mother, Gay Pinder, who passed away in 2012, 20 years after her husband had passed, was active in the community, serving on the first board of Hospice of the Eastern Shore and as a member of the Accomack Interfaith Crisis Council.
His parents sold that first house Pinder and his brother helped build, but he now lives in the round house built by his father five years before he died. That home is also on Pungoteague Creek. When his father formed churches in Richmond and Virginia Beach, he also led the efforts in getting them built.
Pinder was an avid skier in his youth, but today he enjoys riding the creek on an E-Foil, a motorized surfboard that allows riders to glide silently above the water. Pinder travels extensively and has taken his E-Foil to the West Coast.
“I can’t say I am retired because I have served as interim priest or filled in at all seven Episcopal churches on the Eastern Shore, but I leave time for traveling and am always open to new experiences and missions that restore all people to unity with God and themselves,” he said.
For more information on donating funds, volunteering, or applying for assistance from the ESVA Housing Mission, go to www.ESVAHM.org
