Motorists Put Faith in Mechanics’ Ministry

ABINGDON, Va. – All she wanted was a simple oil change – $30, max.

But, as usual, when Karen Shearer went to get one, she was told there was $400 worth of work that needed to be done to her car, she said, emphasizing the word “needed” as if she doubted the veracity of the mechanic’s recommendation.

“I said ‘No way’ and pulled straight outta there,” Shearer said Saturday, while her oil was getting changed – in a church parking lot – for free. “The guy who looked at it a minute ago said it was just some dents in the oil pan. Nothing to worry about.”

The same story was told over and over Saturday morning by those who waiting for service at a makeshift mechanic shop in the parking lot of Woodland Hills Church of Christ. The temporary shop was set up for the church’s innovative new outreach effort: free car care and maintenance for the needy. For Faye Hill, the free oil change was serendipitous. Hill saw the church announcement in the newspaper about two hours after the red glow of the “check oil” light on her dash blinked to life.

The week before, Hill’s daughter, who was seven months pregnant, went into labor prematurely and Hill relied on the old SUV, a ‘98 Ford Explorer someone gave her last year, to rush her daughter, or soon-to-be mom, to the hospital. Since then, Hill has driven from her home in Bristol, Va., to Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon daily to visit her daughter and her 3 pound-2 ounce granddaughter.

“Most places, they do food pantry and stuff like that. But you have to have a car, it’s a necessity,” Hill said. “When the light came on, the first thing I thought was ‘how am I going to pay for this?’ ”

Several red tents were set up in the parking lot for the 9 a.m.-to-noon outreach project. Under the tents was a cavalcade of not-so-new cars, diplomatically speaking.

“Mine’s the one over there with the duct tape,” Shearer said, pointing to her gray 1990 Plymouth Voyager, one of several mini-vans on the lot. “Everything’s McGuyvered on that thing.”

The outreach was geared specifically toward single mothers, widows and orphans, said Neal Kilgore, a member of the church congregation who organized the project. He said the effort was born from a Bible verse that calls for others to take care of widows and orphans in their distress – James, chapter one, verse 23.

“Fifty-two percent of single moms in this country are living under the poverty level,” Kilgore said. “I mean, think about it, not only does a single mom have to care for her children, she’s also the sole source of income and has to work, plus feed her kids, drive them around, pay the bills, go to the grocery store and take the car in for service.

“If we can do anything to help keep the vehicle safe for the mother and the child she drives in it, then that’s what we want to do,” he said.

Kilgore said he stumbled on the idea when he was living in Tennessee about 10 years ago. A local church there hosted such a program, he said, and he brought the idea with him when he moved to Abingdon.

“We’re changing oil and oil filters, topping off any fluids that need it, checking air pressure in tires, the windshield wipers, we’re checking everything to make sure it’s all safe,” he said. “If we find something our mechanics can’t fix today, we’re telling them about it and will be sending them coupons to get the problem fixed someplace else.”

The 10 mechanics on duty and the seven on hand – just in case – were members of the church’s 350-plus congregation who volunteered their time, Kilgore said. With the help of Abingdon Motor Parts and Advance Auto, which supplied the filters free of charge and the oil at cost, the 50 members who volunteered Saturday were able to provide 32 folks with free car care – plus a wash and vacuum provided by the youth group.

Another grateful patron, single mom Debbie Saunders, said not only does she struggle to keep up with car maintenance as often as it’s needed, but she doesn’t know the first thing about cars. At the church, she said, she didn’t have to worry whether the mechanics were trustworthy, or taking her for a ride.

“I don’t know much about cars. I think, as a female, and being single, I don’t know as much about them as a man would,” she said. “And if my car broke down, I’d probably have to take out a loan.”

The same goes for Hill and Shearer, they said.

“I know they’re changing the oil, and doing some other things. I don’t really know all they’re doing,” Hill said. “But I think I’d probably go crazy if I couldn’t get
around.”

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