Lions Club hears about Regenesis Life Ministries

By Carelynn Sheppard

The Chester Lions Club recently heard about a new ministry from Regenesis Life Ministries.

Pastor Gary McReynolds and his wife, “Miss Tracey” McReynolds, spoke to the Chester Lions Club on Feb. 26.

Regenesis is dedicated to helping individuals who have the drive to succeed in their battles with drug and alcohol addiction and poor decisions or life choices. It is a Christian-based residential program which has homes for men, women, and families, as well as a food pantry and two thrift stores.

Donations to and purchases to their thrift stores in Chester and Colonial Heights fund 95 to 98 percent of the ministry’s outreach efforts, Tracey said.

The McReynoldses started a mission in May of 2008 in Petersburg to re-integrate Christ in a community suffering from drugs, alcohol, violence and poverty. Students pay a nominal fee to begin the residential rehabilitation program, which uses a 12-step, Christ-centered philosophy to teach people skills, job skills and ethics.

Last fall, McReynolds started a new program for refurbishing homes that he purchased in the Blandford area. It will also serve as a valuable training opportunity for their students as they learn and hone their skills in construction, carpentry, plumbing, painting, landscaping, etc.

Regenesis and the Chester Lions Club are working together on a project for International Women’s Day, March 8. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Balance for Better.”

The Chester Lions Club is collecting supplies for women and get them to where they are needed, such as homeless and women’s shelters.

At a webinar in January, Lions Clubs International’s president, Gudrun Yngvadottir, put out a request for the collection of feminine hygiene products because “much of the world cannot get them,” said Yngvadottir, the organization’s first woman president.