Houston car wash waxes religious

By JEMIMAH NOONOO Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
May 7, 2009, 6:37PM

Mayra Beltran Chronicle
SHARING FAITH: The Rev. Charles Cooper, second from right, of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, leads Dr. Gleem Car Wash employees in prayer at the end of Bible study at the car wash on May 1 .

The Rev. Charles Cooper is pacing deliberately.
“I’m in dialysis, I go three times a week,” he preaches, his cadenced voice rising gradually. “But that doesn’t stop me from serving God!”

Here, in the lobby of Dr. Gleem Car Wash and Lube Center, there are no pews, no choir, no ushers.
There are, however, about 20 folding chairs arranged in a circle. Listeners — mostly staff — hold coffee mugs in one hand and search for Bible verses with the other. And everyone seats themselves.

“We’re having church here,” Cooper continues, dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt emblazoned with the Gleem logo. “The Spirit is where the Lord is.”
For the past four years, employees have held Bible study at its northwest location on Friday mornings. There are four locations throughout Houston.

The idea was born after weekly staff meetings began ending in fights and finger-pointing, said manager Herb Alcarez. Some of the staff members would leave mid-meeting, slamming doors behind them.
Alcarez and fellow manager Kevin Jenkins — whose father founded the business in 1967 — decided to offer Bible study at the meetings. The managers approached Cooper, a regular customer and pastor at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, to help. Pastor Alex Morrison, of Houston Christway Ministries, also helps lead the Bible study.
“I used to think ‘I got these car washes. God, I’ll call you when I need you,’ ” Jenkins said, about the decision to express faith more openly. “Now it is ‘God, this is your car wash, show me what to do.’ ”
Though the Bible study is open to everyone, mostly employees attend. Members of the group of about 20 attend different churches.

On a recent Friday, prayers are requested for family members: Pastor Cooper says his daughter is like “the prodigal son”; another participant asks for prayer about participating in a funeral.
The subjects are as varied as the recession (no one’s job is in jeopardy, thanks to God), the swine flu (God will protect employees) and the kinds of customers the group sees (you can’t take your Rolex watch to heaven).
“I’m grateful for my job, to be able to put food on the table for my family,” says Christino Jose Aguilar. “That’s the best feeling in the world.”

The 7 a.m. Bible study is not the only clue that this is a faith-based business.

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