Colleagues and community members are seeking donations from the community to aid Gather Church pastor Cole Meckle and his family as he fights an aggressive and terminal form of cancer.
On Monday, July 19, Gather Church published a GoFundMe campaign along with the first major public announcement that its leading pastor was receiving hospice care in Tacoma after being diagnosed with cancer less than two months ago.
Colleagues and family members of the local religious leader and harm reduction advocate are now seeking donations to help the family cover medical costs.
According to the campaign, the money raised is intended to help Meckle’s wife Kat and their children to pay for expenses associated with end-of-life care, including travel and medical bills.
The campaign, which, according to the site, was started on Monday afternoon by Gather Church elder Lily Lo, raised more than $40,000 in the first 24 hours and was approaching the stated goal of $50,000 raised as of Tuesday afternoon.
In the campaign description, Lo asks members of the community to do what they can through donation and prayer to help the Meckle family.
“At Gather, we often say: do what you can with what you have,” reads the description. “This is one of those moments. Whether you give financially, share this fundraiser, or faithfully pray for Cole, Kat, and their boys, every act of generosity is an expression of love.”
Lo, through the GoFundMe page, asks that community members refrain from reaching out individually for updates and instead watch for daily updates on Meckle's condition on the donation page.
“Please continue to surround them with your prayers and love, while also honoring their need for privacy,” organizers of the campaign stated. “Rather than reaching out individually, we encourage you to check this page for updates as they are shared, allowing the family to focus their time and energy where it is needed most — with one another.”
Meckle is a homegrown Lewis County resident.
According to a short biography on the gather Church website, he was born and raised in the northern Lewis County area. He graduated from Rochester High School in 1988.
In the same biography, Meckle recalls building custom cars in the area after graduating from high school before eventually having a spiritual awakening in 2000 and relocating to Seattle in order to attend Trinity College. The Lutheran liberal arts college, originally founded in the 1940s, officially closed in 2016.
After living and serving in other communities, Meckle helped start Gather Church in 2010. He remains listed as one of the governors of the religious organization, along with two Gather Church elders.
Serving as the head pastor of the organization, Meckle has overseen much change and growth at the church. Today, Gather Church does much more than provide sermons during its weekly Saturday evening service. The church organizes significant outreach and services for underserved members of the community.
Gather Church organizes clothing donations, a food bank, harm reduction through a clean needle exchange, case management and much more.
Meckle has often been the face of the church in the community and represented it even during opposition and legal challenges with local governments.
Most recently, Gather Church won a lawsuit against Lewis County with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington to challenge a Lewis County ordinance enforcing restrictions on harm reduction services, including the distribution of clean needles in a mobile setting.
For more information on Meckle and to donate to him and his family visit https://tinyurl.com/2awwxkp8.
