The Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting for the grand opening of The Gathering Place Tuesday.

Text and Photos
By Jackie Gorski
Times-Union

WARSAW — The Gathering Place celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Fellowship Missions Executive Director Eric Lane said when the community can drop what they’re doing and come together and just be a community, that’s when things change. And that’s what Fellowship Missions wants. The nonprofit organization wants people to see other people as human.

“We want to find rest together. We want to be able to find collaboration together. We just want to be together,” he said.
The Gathering Place is an intentional space in the community, where individuals and recovery service organizations can come together in a safe environment, making addiction recovery resources more accessible. The Gathering Place will provide substance misuse recovery resources, classes, support groups and one-on-one therapy, according to Fellowship Missions’ website.

Shown from left are Tammy and Eric Lane of Fellowship Missions.

However, Lane did say The Gathering Place is meant to be a place for all.

Lane said there have been people come in because their offices were closed.

He said Fellowship Missions is excited to show off what they’ve been doing with the space. In the basement is a maker’s space for people to “tinker.” There are larger conference rooms upstairs for the community to use.

“We want to see all kinds of things happen on all three levels and nobody can say, ‘Oh, that’s a place for x, y or z.’ No, it’s a place for all,” he said.

He said the building goes back to the 1860s. This has been one of his favorite projects because of the history of the building and he feels a responsibility to carry that history on. Back in the 1860s, Lane said the building was called A Gathering Place.

K21 Health Foundation President and CEO Rich Haddad said the grand opening represents all the people who have leaned in over the many years to join Fellowship Missions in trying to help people in a very important, critical need level and walk with them to help move their lives forward in a positive way.

K21 Health Foundation President and CEO Rich Haddad speaks during the grand opening of The Gathering Place Tuesday.

“But as a grantmaker in this community focused on health, one of the most critical things is we all take part in helping somebody rebuild their lives – to life their healthiest life right here in Kosciusko County. Fellowship Missions is one of the critical organizations that help us do that. Again, not alone, not the only ones. But we’re here to celebrate them today. And celebrate in a space that allows us to engage in a relationship and be part of a life well lived. With that, we are very proud at K21 to be part of this project, along with some others along the way. And so again, thanks to Fellowship Missions and I hope we can celebrate this really great day for the community,” Haddad said.

Warsaw Common Councilwoman Diane Quance said the city of Warsaw was happy to partner with Fellowship Missions to bring some of the funding for The Gathering Place and not just for those people who are trying to rebuild their lives. The Gathering Place is supposed to be a “welcoming place for all of us” so people can drop in and join in the fellowship there.
The Gathering Place is going to be a space that is going to bring needed resources to the people that need them.

Quance said she remembers a paper her son wrote in third grade about the need of the homeless in Warsaw. He wrote the city needed to recognize that part of the population. When you think about a third-grader noticing that, it makes you think the community needs to step and do something so people can all come together as a community.

After everyone spoke, the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting.