The Weekly Update page is extracted from a weekly e-mail sent out by
Assistant Pastor Donna Pollock
Last weekend, a semi-truck pulled into one of our sister churches in Burlington from Convoy of Hope, the same people that furnished us with shoes for school children several years ago. Their purpose is painted on the side of the trailer: A Driving Passion to Feed the World. They mean it, literally and figuratively. They want to alleviate hunger and offer the gospel to people who are hungry for meaning in their lives. They have an arm of their organization called Rural Compassion, and a team of four people drove from Springfield, Missouri, to Vermont to inspire us and bring us “stuff” to build relational bridges into our towns and communities under the heading: Small Towns. Big Possibilities.
Our church was blessed! Along with several others who were also invited. Our three Milton churches have opted to work together, once again, to use the stuff they brought us, to try to reach our town. We filled a box truck, our Men’s Action Ministry Trailer, and several pickup trucks with stuff. What “stuff?” Crackers, cookies, paper towels, energy drinks, toilet paper, cereal, and oh, so much more! Gobs and gobs of stuff. Now, we’re going to look for creative ways to use the items they brought us to do local ministry.
The gracious people who came gave us everything without cost. Free! An entire tractor-trailer load. Then they challenged us (two representatives from each church; I cheated and took one or maybe two more people along…) to join what they call the serving revolution. They want to inspire us to learn how to serve as an act of worship, no strings attached. In other words, let go of any notion that people owe us or even need to say thank-you to us. We will try to love on our town and, over time, perhaps earn the right to tell our story—why we do what we do. For now, we simply want to become a conduit of blessing to meet needs in our town and community.
We’ve gone out with signs telling our town that we are thankful for those who serve us, such as fire-fighters, EMT’s, teachers, etc. Now, we can put some teeth into our claims and expressions of appreciation by meeting tangible needs with the stuff that has been given to us. We’re looking for creative ideas, partners, volunteers, helpers, and for the involvement of every church member. I trust you’ll be jumping in! Help us stuff our town!
Pastor Jeff