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Faith In Action Try It -- You Might Like It!
(by Gary Godfrey - September 21, 2009)
The sanctuary at Bradford’s Church of the Brethren was empty Sunday morning because the congregation spent their regular Sunday service time volunteering. Church leaders changed the date of the National Faith in Action day scheduled on October 11, 2009 because of Bradford’s annual Pumpkin Show.
Hundreds of volunteer members of the church worked at 11 different locations. They tackled all kinds of projects so that everyone could do something to help. From kindergarten to a 93 year old senior, everyone pitched in to care for others!
Author and pastor, John Ortberg says it this way, “Faith in Action is a dynamic program that galvanizes your congregation to be the hands and feet of Jesus in meeting real needs in your local community.”
Community project included: Free quarters for laundry mat service. Free coats and hats for winter. One two-story house painting. One section of business fronts painted and new curtains replaced. Bradford school mulching. Covington school mulching (elementary, Jr. high, High School). Baby Baskets assembled and taken to Wilson, Greenville and Upper Valley. Brethren Home church service and visitation. Log splitting and storage assembly project. Free water and lunch crews for all the volunteers and public.
This make the second year in a row that the Bradford Church of the Brethren has skipped their Sunday service and went out into the community to volunteer. Many of the volunteers wore their T-shirt from last year that says: Don’t Go To Church. Be The Church!
Senior Pastor, Dan Scalf, encouraged the volunteers to not only serve, but to enjoy the process and take time to know your co-workers and the people you’re helping.
All the volunteers were invited back to the church fellowship hall at 6:00 p.m. for Free pizza and soda. Stories and happenings of the day were shared by each group.
The Faith in Action curriculum teaches the importance of serving, and it creates an excitement within the group or congregation to get out of the church building and serve just like Jesus did . . .
For more information of Faith in Action, you can go to their website: http://putyourfaithinaction.org
A large percentage of church goer's believe they already do to much for the poor and deprived. To this I say, “Wrong!”
Everyone has the same amount of time. There is 24-hours in a day. It is up to each of us to choose what we do with those 24 hours? The Bible tells us that we are suppose to put God first in everything we do. If we do this, God will see that everything else will fall into place. Yes, including football practice.
This week’s bottom line: The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Deuteronomy 28:11-13
For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work. ~Doug Larson
How long a minute is, depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on. ~Zall's Second Law
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