Several Windsor churches have moved forward in faith through a series of transitions designed to make them stronger and better able to fulfill missions focused on loving God, loving others unconditionally and serving the community.
Such was a story that began in 2002 when several families at Santa Rosa’s Hope Chapel, led by then Staff Pastor Mark Wilmarth, were impressed to plant a church in Windsor. Meetings were initially held in the Windsor Community Center behind Safeway before the group moved to 8,000 square feet of commercial space at 7860 Bell Road off Conde Lane in 2004 previously occupied by the Sonrise Christian Church.
In 2012, Windsor’s Shiloh Covenant Church and Hope Chapel merged. With about 100 members each, these churches believed they could become better together and have more collective impact on the community if they would pool resources to leverage joint efforts for the greater good.
The combined congregations took the name Sanctuary Church, defined as a sacred and consecrated place of refuge, a retreat set apart where everyone could feel safe, find tranquility and seek shelter from the trials of life while becoming renewed in body, mind and spirit through helping others.
“I have a heart for unity in the Christian Church based on the words of Jesus in John 17:21,” said Wilmarth. “Jesus prayed for those who would come to him that they may be one in spirit and purpose. I call this the ‘Big C’ representing all of the churches in Windsor.”
He reached out to pastors from the entire community of faith in town with an invitation to meet for fellowship and to plan a program of active support for the town’s residents, serve those in need and to determine what they could do collectively.
“This group of churches, known as Together in Christ Windsor, meets several times a year to worship and pray for our community, the town, local leaders and for safety in our schools. When the world looks at Windsor churches today, they will see us standing side by side performing humanitarian projects that send a message unlike any other at a time when people are divided by different beliefs, social issues and injustice,” said Wilmarth.
Together in Christ Windsor also launched Windsor Kids, offering free school backpacks and other services annually. This event takes place on the first Saturday in August. Local churches and faith-based organizations, such as the Redwood Gospel Mission, set up booths, offer a gospel presentation, provide hot dogs, popcorn and other refreshments while providing kids with haircuts, dental checkups and school supplies before returning to classes in the fall.
About 15 years ago these churches approached the Windsor Town Council asking for community projects they could embrace. From these discussions the “Windsor Spring Clean” program was created in 2006. Some 300 volunteers met at the Town Green and engaged in activities such as clearing brush at Shiloh and Foothill Regional Parks, cleaning and painting public rest rooms, spreading bark and other initiatives.
Throughout the year Christians observe Biblical calendar events with large group celebrations.
“We participate with fellow believers to praise and glorify God at combined Good Friday and sunrise services on Easter Sunday, Christmas concerts and other seasonal programs that are rotated from church to church. We also support local youth pastors and a monthly Windsor Youth gathering for middle and senior high schools,” Wilmarth said.
Sanctuary was actively involved during the October firestorm and raised $30,000, distributed as $2,500 grants to fire victims. The church participated in a shed building project at Piner High School, constructing 8-by-8-foot storage sheds for those displaced, giving them a jump start in the rebuilding process. The church also supports Nana’s House orphanage in Tepic, the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Nayarit.
In addition, Sanctuary sponsors a refuge ministry near Berlin, Germany, headed by Greg Fauss, former co-pastor of Shiloh Covenant Church in Windsor. The congregation gives a percentage of weekly offerings to address community and other needs identified by members.
“Our purpose is to equip loving, giving and growing Christians to reach out with the good news of Jesus Christ to evangelize the lost, minister to those in need, and to seek justice for the oppressed. As Ephesians 4:13-16 says, we need to come together in unity of faith in Christ … from whom the whole body is fitly joined together … in love,” Wilmarth said.
“We don’t see our church as a pond or lake, but as a river guided by the Holy Spirit. The closer we move to its center, the current takes us to a new destination, with a broader purpose or a new ministry where we can be even more effective,” he observed, signifying another exciting transition coming soon.
Gary Quackenbush is a Windsor resident and writer with his own public relations consultancy. He is the founder of the Windsor Care Network and a former CEO of the Windsor Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at [email protected].
