By Winifred Ashby, Staff Writer

EAST PEMBERLY — After more than three decades of quiet service beside the coat rack, the lost-and-found bin at Pemberly Hills Fellowship was formally recognized as a ministry of the church this week, complete with a volunteer coordinator, a line in the annual budget and a laminated sign that reads "All Who Wander Are Not Lost (But Their Stuff Is)."

The vote came during Tuesday's Facilities and Fellowship Committee meeting, which ran two hours and forty minutes, thirty of which were spent debating whether the bin should report to Facilities or to Fellowship. In the end, members agreed on a compromise in which it reports to both and neither will answer its emails.

"This bin has been faithful longer than some of our hymnals," said committee chair Doris Kettleman, 71, gesturing at the blue plastic tote, which was purchased in 1995 and has not been fully emptied since. "It holds 46 umbrellas, 19 single gloves, 12 reading glasses, a child's light-up sneaker that still lights up, and a casserole dish nobody has claimed since the Great Potluck of 2009. That dish has outlasted three pastors. It deserves respect."

The newly appointed Coat Rack Bin Ministry Coordinator, retired mail carrier Gerald Pruitt, said he plans to bring "structure and vision" to the role. His first act was a sign-up sheet asking members to list items they have lost at church. By Wednesday morning, the sheet itself had gone missing.

"I see that as a sign of engagement," Pruitt said.

Plans for the ministry's first year include a quarterly "Reunion Sunday," when unclaimed items are laid out on the fellowship hall tables so owners can come forward. Organizers expect strong turnout, though early surveys suggest most members will attend mainly to take home a free umbrella that was never theirs.

Not everyone is convinced. Longtime usher Harold Benning raised concerns about "mission creep" after the bin's budget request included a second bin, a label maker and a small shelf for what Pruitt calls "the deep archive," which consists mostly of cassette tapes from a 1998 youth retreat.

"First it's a bin, then it's a shelf, then it's a building campaign," Benning said. "I've seen this happen with the church library."

Youth pastor Kayla Moreno said the students are excited to help, especially after learning the coordinator role comes with a lanyard. Several have already volunteered to run the ministry's social media account, which will post one unclaimed item a week under the hashtag #IsThisYours.

At press time, the committee had approved a mission statement for the new ministry, printed it in the bulletin, and promptly placed the only original copy in the bin for safekeeping.