Mission Blitz - Love Is A Verb and It Grows
Last year I wrote an article about the first Mission Blitz King Moravian Church held and how it transpired. I finished the story with a question, “Will it be a candle that burns brightly and then blows out, or will it light other candles and burn even brighter?” I am happy and proud to tell you that the light grew and eight other churches (Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, and Community churches) in our county joined us to share the blessing with our neighbors.
Months ago ministers and members started meeting together from all the churches, discussing the plans of how nearly 60 families could be helped. Team captains were chosen, teams were formed, and the picture became clearer. It was decided that each church would bake enough loaves of bread so that a loaf could be given to each family that we served. All the teams met at King Moravian church in King, North Carolina, on a Thursday night for opening worship. The bread was stacked high on the Communion Table. The choir sang, “In this very room, there’s quite enough love for all of us,” and as the words were heard, there was enough love. I believe that every person in the sanctuary could feel it in his or her heart. The church was filled with volunteers ready to start their tasks. You could sense the energy as strangers introduced themselves to each other, and friends that had not seen each other for years hugged and tears of joy flowed down their faces.
Pastor Jim Newsom gave a short message that was profound: “If we did the work without love for the people we were serving, it would be an empty gesture… only love made the difference in our service.” Other pastors spoke the same message in different ways. It was clear everyone’s prayer was that the homes of the people not only be made more comfortable by the work that was to be done, but more importantly, they would feel the Spirit of Christ touching their lives.
Reverently, a team leader from each church came to the Communion Table and picked up a blessed loaf of bread to take to their “family.”
Wheel chair ramps were waiting to be built, as were decks, sidewalks, interior floors, roofs, siding, bathrooms, etc. God’s people were ready to go to help.
The weekend went quickly and before we knew it, we were all meeting together at Trinity United Methodist Church for a potluck meal, followed by worship that concluded with Holy Communion. I had wondered if the church would be nearly empty with people being exhausted by a weekend of hard work? The hall was filled to overflowing! People were tired, but enthusiastic, they laughed and cried as they shared their stories. One man stood up and told of a crew that had refused to leave their work site to come eat because they were not completely done. Pastor Jim said he had stopped to check on them and they were “filled with spirit and fire,” and determined to get the job done. They made it to the church in time to join everyone for worship!
And what a service it was as the pastors recalled the work, the challenges, and the joys of working together. Nine loaves of bread entered the sanctuary as one person from each church walked the aisle to the front. Many different ages and backgrounds were represented but what I will always remember is this: the air was filled with God’s Spirit and love and without a single doubt we were more alike than different.
Pastor Jim wondered aloud at a small meeting last year before the first Mission Blitz began what it could be like if the vision grew and church after church would reach out to join in and help the folks in our county. We found out what nine of us together can do. I look forward to next year when even more blessings will be shared.
I am having a vision of my own where there are no empty pews in these churches because everyone will want to be a part of a place of love that reaches out, and upholds each other and their neighbors. After all, isn’t that what Jesus said it was all about?
