Historic Oysterville Church

In my younger, plummier days when I could still stay awake long enough to watch Saturday Night Live, I especially loved Dana Carvey’s character Enid Strict, “The Church Lady.”   She was the epitome of everything I wouldn’t want to be.  So, the other day when I answered the phone and the voice on the other end said, “Is this the church lady?” I almost said “No.”  But, actually, I am.
The Historic Oysterville Church is owned by the Oysterville Restoration Foundation (ORF), a non-profit entity to which all property owners in the Oysterville National Historic District belong.  ORF is responsible for the day-to-day upkeep of the church and for any maintenance or restoration that might be needed as time goes by.  For big projects we hold fund-raisers or look for grants.  For the ‘usual expenses’ we depend upon the income from three sources – donations to the poor box in the church lobby; the proceeds from the collection baskets at our summer vesper services; and the money brought in by church rentals which are primarily for weddings.
For a number of years, I have been the ORF volunteer who books the wedding dates, arranges for tours, and schedules the ecumenical music vesper services.  It is my phone number that is in all the outreach literature and on the Visitor Bureau’s www.funbeach.com site.  So, for all intents and purposes, I am the Church Lady, at least in Oysterville. And that’s just fine with me – as long as no one confuses me with Enid Strict!