*Editor’s note: Cleo Kottwitz is a former pastor of Houston United Methodist Church
Volunteering is more than an activity or way to fill empty hours for 82-year-old Columbia resident Cleo Kottwitz.
As a child in Gasconade County, Kottwitz was involved in church and 4-H, where he often participated in community service projects. For more than 50 years, he has deliberately given his time to local and international organizations.
Through organizations such as Heifer International, the annual Columbia CROP Hunger Walk, the seasonal homeless shelter called Room at the Inn, the Audubon Society and more, Kottwitz has lived with the purpose of serving others.
“Time is running out,” he said. “You do what you can while you still can.”
Today, Kottwitz and his wife, Judy Parsons, serve an average of 15 hours per week helping others throughout the year.
“It’s a great joy,” Kottwitz said. “We enjoy doing things together.”
Most recently, they have began working with the Container Project, a regional ministry that partners with Rainbow Network to provide clothing and supplies to those in need in Nicaragua.
Kottwitz and his wife serve with the project at least once a month packing boxes.
Donations are brought in from around the state and sorted by volunteers. Items inappropriate to the climate or terrain, such as high-heeled shoes or clothing that has been ripped, is removed and donated elsewhere or discarded. After items are sorted, they are boxed and stored until the next shipping container goes out. The container is filled and shipped twice a year.
Kottwitz’s career as a pastor and his Christian faith have influenced him to serve past his retirement in 1997.
“I’m no longer under appointment for 20 years, but my ministry didn’t end,” Kottwitz said. “The whole message of the Christian faith is an awful lot about serving others.”
Before attending Saint Paul School of Theology from 1966 to 1969 to become a pastor in the United Methodist Church, Kottwitz received a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry from MU in 1957 and worked within University of Missouri Extension with 4-H clubs for three years and on the farm with his brother.
As a pastor, Kottwitz served seven appointments in rural settings in the Eastern Missouri Conference.
“My sense of calling as a pastor was to help churches serve and care for people,” he said.
Many of the organizations that he is involved in now are organizations that he worked with and urged his congregations to be a part of during his time as a pastor.
“One of the things that makes a difference in those rural churches is that they can be involved in ministry beyond themselves,” Kottwitz said. “When they take a heifer over to Festival of Sharing and ‘Woo, we did something!’ and then ‘What can we do next?'”
“It’s important for the people volunteering. Instead of sitting there, wondering what to do with their lives, they’re having a great sense of fulfillment using the skills they have to make a difference for someone else,” Kottwitz said.