THE CHURCH HOUSE

Finding that the church was for sale was an answer to a prayer. It gave Tim and Kathy Johnson a place to live as well as room for her business.

BEFORE & AFTER

‘CHOUSE’ BLESSINGS

Revamped church is a sanctuary for DIY couple and wildlife in their care

STORY MARJIE DUCEY PHOTOGRAPHY JEFFREY BEBEE AND MARJIE DUCEY

Orphaned kitties sleep in the vestibule and rambunctious baby raccoons chatter in a playpen in the sanctuary.

Zion Lutheran Church in Benedict, Nebraska, may no longer be saving souls, but it’s still in the rescue business.

Tim and Kathy Johnson purchased the church in September 2020 as a home — for both humans and animals.

Kathy is a volunteer for the Wildlife Rescue Team Inc., of Lincoln. She receives hundreds of calls each year asking her to help save injured or abandoned wildlife. She can’t say no to puppies or kittens either.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Kathy once attended this church when she lived in Benedict.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

“That’s my therapy,” Kathy says. She works to return to the wild any type of animal she may get a call or Facebook message about. It’s a daily occurrence. Kathy also runs K9 Coach Training, which was why spotting the “For Sale” sign on the 1917 church was, for them, divine intervention.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on her business, she could no longer afford the $1,000-a-month rent on her commercial property in nearby York.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” she says.

The church was the victim of a dwindling congregation. The Johnsons were able to buy the building, sell their old house and live mortgage-free.

The church is the same one that Kathy attended when she lived in Benedict. Her son, Adam, was married there and his sons were baptized there. Today, he and his family live just a few blocks away.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

OWNER

Kathy with Gizmo, one of her three dogs. They are usually joined by cats, raccoons, birds and squirrels.

GRAND SPACE

The sanctuary of the church is now the couple’s living room.

The former altar area makes the perfect dining spot.

A half-wall cube with an arched entry gives Kathy a craft room.

BIRD

A parakeet lives in an enclosure in the living room. It’s a rescue, of course.

DETAILS

At top right, a detail of an arched opening on a half-wall, enhanced by a view of stained glass. At right, a candle holder, also original to the space.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

Professionals were hired to install walls and do plumbing and electrical work, otherwise the Johnsons have tackled everything on their so-called “chouse.” They’re documenting the project on Facebook because so many people have been interested.

“We get visitors all the time,” Kathy says.

While the outside, with its beautiful stained glass windows, still appears the same, the inside is beginning to look more like a home than a church.

A dining room table sits where the altar was located; there’s a couch and TV in the sanctuary, and the kitchen sits where the organ and choir once did.

An overflow room behind the sanctuary is now the main (and only) bedroom, with a breadbox-style roll-up wall for privacy. They used an extra portion of the tongue-andgroove pine on the half-wall in the kitchen.

Kathy’s popular dog training classes are held in the basement. The kitchen will house baby wildlife once it’s overhauled.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

A second-floor choir room, with its slanted floor, would be the perfect place for a movie room. If they can only find the time.

Kathy says she once bottle-fed 21 baby raccoons at the same time. Two years ago 52, and last year 30, raccoons came under her care.

Tim recently finished a large enclosure in the backyard for an albino raccoon that can never be released in the wild, and squirrels who will soon roam the neighborhood.

“It’s very time-consuming,” Kathy says. “All morning up to lunch, I’m doing something with an animal.”

Knobs sit waiting to be installed on kitchen doors. The main floor is refinished, but try as they might, they can’t get the tracks from the pews out of the wood.

Kathy has enjoyed the renovation though it’s much more work for Tim, who is doing the heavy labor.

“In the end when he’s done,” Kathy says, “he’s happy and proud of what he accomplished.”

PANTRY

The “pantry” used to be the pastor’s office.

BASEMENT

The basement of the church is where Kathy holds her dog training classes.

RACCOON

Kathy cares for raccoons as part of her work with wildlife.

Backyarding

New paths to enjoyment seem to be here to stay

STORY MARJIE DUCEY

Backyards have endless possibilities, from gardening to a place to relax or play games with the family. There’s even a new term for all of those activities: backyarding.

Industry experts note that homeowners got really creative as they

expanded and enjoyed their yards over the last year. Their prediction: Long after the

coronavirus pandemic passes, our yards will become an even greater part of our lives.

Turn the page to see four Omaha-area backyards — each with a different purpose —

bringing year-round joy to their owners.