Sometimes we have the time to plan ahead for ministry support outside of our church. And then there are those times when we hear about a need and a response is needed immediately. The latter was the case during the bitter cold that we had after Christmas. One of our Calvary family heard from the Safe Harbor staff that the number of people coming there for a warm place to sleep was far beyond what they usually serve. They were in desperate need of blankets and socks. We put this need on Facebook and very quickly people were responding. We don’t know how many folks took blankets and/or socks directly to Safe Harbor (there was no time to collect at Calvary and then deliver them), but we did have another of our Calvary family members who went to Walmart and purchased 27 blankets and 126 pair of socks on behalf of the church. In addition, a local restaurant delivered 100 chicken dinners to Safe Harbor.

This is what happens when the people of God hear about a need. Being in a warm house when it’s bitterly cold outside just makes us more keenly aware of how miserable it would be to be outside longer than the time it takes to walk to our car.

Thank you for continually responding to needs as they arise. This is what it means to love our neighbor.

About the Author
Debbie Reese is the Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC