Mission and Outreach
February 2012 Article
I attended an interesting workshop at the Albion District Leadership Training Day, Jan. 21. The title of the session was “Look No Springs, Really!” “Rebuilding Burnt Bridges By Sowing Seeds.” The session was led by Rev. Ron Slager, Stockbridge Avenue UMC, Kalamazoo. He said that most people and agencies we deal with are skeptical of the church because in the past there have been ulterior motives, helping people just to get them to attend church. Instead Slater advocated just serving without expecting any return. He says we have the Great Commission, Matt. 28:19-20. “Go therefore and made disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” This commission has been embraced by the United Methodist Church in our purpose: Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation world. But Slager reminded us that there is also the great commandment, Matt. 22:37-39. “He [Jesus] said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Slager said that if we obey the great commandment then the great commission will follow along naturally. Jeremy expressed the same idea in his sermon on January 22nd in which he said that we cast nets to bring in people who will be disciples, and the net is love.
Slager told about two projects in Kalamazoo that are examples of doing this. The first is called Kalamazoo Christmas. It consists of a free store where those who need it can get winter clothing, kids can get toys, and everyone gets a free meal. The event is highly advertised and over 1600 people were served last year. There were 400 people who worked on this project. About 150 of them came from the Stockbridge United Methodist Church. The rest came from other churches or from the community. Many were people who were not interested in church but just wanted to help with this humanitarian project. He said that 170 of those helping were unchurched. The second project, called Jesus Loves Kzoo, was a series of cookouts, one per day for four days in different areas of the city of the city. The day of the event, the workers went through the neighborhood knocking on doors and inviting people. It was just a time for the people of the neighborhood to get together.
Here in Albion, the faith action projects we do in November are examples of what Slager was talking about, perhaps especially our putting plastic on the insides of windows. That project is growing. This year teams worked three Saturdays in addition to Sunday. But there is more that could be done. Some houses needed to have windows re-glazed, or window frames repaired, or door thresholds modified to keep out the drafts. These tasks were beyond skills and resources of the teams that we had available. Perhaps in the future, we could add these tasks and in that way develop further relationships with the people we serve.
As I look around Albion I see many groups that are meeting needs but which could use more help. Pastor Fred Alexander's All Men of Albion, comes to mind. This group serves as a stabilizing influence in the schools, both in the hallways and at athletic contests. Albion Interfaith Ministries runs a food pantry, a thrift store, and provides help with rent and utilities. They can always use more help, both financial and volunteers. Vera Simpson's Women of Vision are working with youth after school to teach them homemaking skills. Dave Farley and Dave Huber work with the boys of the Scout Troop in our building. I am sure they would welcome additional adult involvement. Harry Bonner with the Kids At Hope program also in our building would probably welcome more adult involvement. If we give up the idea that it has to be our program and that we, or our church, have to get credit for it, then there are many ways in which we can serve and show Christ's love to others.
John Williams for the Outreach Work Area