Pastor of Glendale Heights church brings comfort

The Rev. Steve Kass lives a simple life.

He doesn't have cable and wears secondhand clothes. He lives in Carol Stream, close enough to bike to his parish when the weather's nice. And he doesn't mind that boxes of food have taken over a coat closet in the modest Glendale Heights church.

"I've got plenty," Kass said, sitting in an office with a used computer.

Family in Faith is one of a handful of Christian churches in the blue-collar town, and it's taken the parish about eight years to raise money to build a brick-and-mortar food pantry on its grounds.

Again, no complaints.

"It's been slow," Kass acknowledges with a smile.

He's no Mother Teresa, the father of three makes clear several times, but he's learned not to get attached to "the stuff that you have." And that it's much better to face loss - of a job, good health - when "you're all in this together."

"I've learned a ton from people who have almost nothing, from people who are illiterate, from people who struggle," Kass said. "I've learned in many ways as much as I've taught."

His is a small and welcoming church for families of different faiths.

"If you have need, that's what we want to do, to take care of," Kass said.

The church doesn't have enough in its coffers to put toward catching a mortgage up or paying utilities for families in need, Kass said. But he and volunteers can help with a basic need: food.

So once a month, as they have for the last decade, they unload thousands of pounds of groceries from a Northern Illinois Food Bank truck that parks in the church's lot for about an hour and a half.

That time crunch means families don't have the luxury of picking what they want. There's only enough time for volunteers to load the week's groceries into old, blue carts.

In October alone, they served about 100, but have reached more than 2,000 families over the last 10 years.

"For a small church, I think we're doing a lot of good," said Annette Busch, who sets aside space in her garage to store bags of donated pet food bound for the mobile food pantry.

But they're doing more than providing a week's worth of groceries for each household. Families can get free flu shots one month and wrapped Christmas gifts the next. Inside the church, they'll find a therapy dog and prayer groups. Terri Hecht finds companionship.

"He wants to make sure I'm OK," Hecht said of Kass.

She considers Kass a friend who makes her "feel very comfortable and very welcome" and keeps in touch with phone calls. The Lombard woman said she suffers from depression and diabetes and, with a Link card and a disability check, struggles to afford a special diet.

"Without the food pantry sometimes, I just wouldn't make it," she said.

She "can't wait for the building," her voice stressing each word. So far, Family in Faith has collected $134,419 in donations and pledges from businesses and other supporters toward the permanent food pantry, Kass said.

Church members need to raise another $10,144 to construct the 2,400-square-foot building and another $16,575 to install a fire alarm panel. Then, the pantry would be able to operate. But roughly $40,000 more, Kass said, would allow the church to add a walk-in freezer and plumbing for a washroom and utility sink.

Kass hopes to break ground in mid-December and open in late winter or early spring. The Northern Illinois Food Bank will continue to stock the new pantry. Now, the church can't accept donated food from grocery stores, food manufacturers and others because of a lack of storage space, but the permanent pantry will be able to take those contributions.

Kass expects 10 to 15 volunteers would run the pantry each shift.

"A lot of people like the idea of doing something that makes a difference in their community, and this is something where they can see neighbors of theirs hurting that have need," Kass said. "This is the way that they can help folks that live right here."

Families will be able to shop for groceries during a time that fits their schedule instead of waiting in line outside on a Saturday morning.

Kass' goal is, like his wardrobe, simple: to bring some comfort.

"It's a privilege," he said. "I don't think I do it well, but I'm just delighted to be in the position that I'm in and use whatever abilities I have to point people to God's love and to serve as best I can."