82 Years of Bringing Hope to the Homeless
Burt McCausland founded the Mission in 1941
This past week, I walked past an old, framed photo on the wall in our Administration building. It was a picture of Reverend Burt McCausland and his wife, Avis. 82 years ago, Rev. McCausland founded City Mission, and together, he and his wife operated the homeless shelter for 35 years. Everything that City Mission has become today began as Rev. McCausland’s vision and his prayers for a safe, welcoming place for those who had lost all hope.
In 1940, Rev. McCausland, age 29, was co-owner of a small store in downtown Washington. He and his sister, Dorothy, were on the steps talking out in front of the store one night. Next door was a bar. The door of the bar suddenly swung open and two men tossed a little, old man out onto the sidewalk. The old man tried to stand up, but he couldn’t. He fell several times. Eventually, the police came and hauled him away.
The encounter left Rev. McCausland in tears, and he vowed to find a way to create a place for people like that little, old man – a place where they could be treated with compassion and kindness and dignity.
On February 8, 1941, he made good on his promise when he founded City Mission in a small storefront on South Main Street. It all started with a service, a meal, and few makeshift beds on the floor. Avis Pattison was the pianist and singer for McCausland’s first services at City Mission. In September of 1943, McCausland and Pattison were married, and they became co-superintendents of the Mission for the next 35 years.
By 1945, City Mission was an established and respected pillar in the community, having offered over 5,000 meals and 3,000 nights of shelter since its inception. Rev. McCausland personally wrote letters to community members asking for donations. And he wrote thank you letters as often as he could.
In 1947, WJPA radio began a weekly broadcast called the “Amazing Grace” program, which was hosted by Rev. McCausland for the next 30 years.
Together, the Rev. and Mrs. McCausland conducted regular services at the Mission, a weekly service at the County Jail, and open-air services on the Courthouse steps, with Rev. McCausland preaching the Word and Avis providing the music. City Mission grew very quickly, and soon, they were offering Sunday School classes and child evangelism classes. Eventually, they opened a Gospel bookstore to help raise extra funds. Soon after that, they opened their first Thrift Store and began a recycling enterprise to supplement their fundraising efforts.
In 1957, City Mission provided 24,522 meals and 8,233 nights of shelter. And the Mission continued to grow and to help more and more people change their lives and reconnect with their families.
Rev. McCausland kept meticulous records, and in the 35 years that he and his wife ran the Mission, they were able to help 35,000 people in need.
Together, the McCaulslands led the Mission until 1977, when Avis passed away. Rev. McCausland retired and moved to Florida. He knew if he stayed anywhere near Washington, he would be at the Mission every day, and he didn’t want to interfere with the new leadership. He passed away in 1985. His funeral was held in the City Mission chapel.
81 years later, in 2022, City Mission provided over 105,000 meals and 38,000 nights of shelter. We distributed over 7,000 bags of groceries for the community and offered more than 17,000 services in our medical clinic. The Mission has expanded to serve four separate homeless populations across five distinct shelters, with a 170-bed capacity. We operate 8 Thrift Stores, offer medical services at our on-campus medical clinic, and run a Career Training and Education Center that helped 116 men and women find jobs in the past year.
I hope that if the McCauslands were still alive today and if they came to take a tour of our campus, they would be happy with the ways we are still serving the community all these years later. I believe they would appreciate the love we show every day to our residents and the small kindnessess that are evident in every room on our campus.
We invite you to come and visit us and take a tour of City Mission. If you haven’t been here in the past five years, you will be amazed at all the changes. Come and check us out! And see what 82 years of bringing hope to the homeless looks like. Call us at 724-222-8530 to schedule a tour or visit our website.
Recent Articles
