What an amazing mtg the Church of West Orange had this last Wednesday as we gave updates on all that’s going on with the Church of West Orange. It’s not even 2010 yet, and we already are focused big time with our 3 emphases for the coming year – the homeless, the hungry, and families in crisis. Here are some highlights from the meeting:
FOOD FOR FAMILIES_The Church of West Orange supported Mark Anthony and the Bread of Life ministry during the Food for Families Thanksgiving project. Mark shared that 1100 families were served with boxes of groceries delivered by volunteers from various church families in the area. One volunteer commented to her pastor after having delivered to a family that spoke a different language than her, “There’s no language barrier when you are loving somebody and caring for somebody.” That’s for sure! Be praying for Bread of Life, though. One of their main trucks is in need of an engine replacement. The cost is approximately $13,000. If you or someone you know may be willing to help, please let us know.
BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES_Alison with Bethany Christian Services gave us an update on their efforts to enlist families to be care families for kids from families in serious crisis. The goal was 10 families enlisted to serve by the end of 2009, and she said it looks like they will meet it! The Church of West Orange is encouraging people from our various local church families to get involved. The goal is to have 15 more families approved and ready to serve by June 2010. If you want more info, please comment below, and we will connect you with Alison.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD_Tom Welch gave an update on how the Operation Christmas Child effort went in November. There were over 1300 boxes submitted for delivery. There’s going to be a lot of happy kids all over the world this Christmas. He also shared a neat story that he learned during the project. A local family who had given a box last year sent a letter and contact information inside the box hoping to create some writing back and forth. Well, it did more than that. The orphan who received it wrote back, and the family eventually adopted him. Amazing!!!
FREEZE WARNING MINISTRY_Sarah Rosenburg updated us on the efforts to rally volunteers from among the Church of West Orange to be on call for the winter nights coming up when the temp falls below 42 degrees. The ministry is called “Freeze Warning,” and it provides sheltering in local church buildings for the homeless on those particularly cold and rainy nights. The next organizational meeting will be Thursday, DECEMBER 10TH at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of First United Methodist Church of Winter Garden. Park in the parking lot at Boyd and Newell Streets for the Fellowship Hall. In case you need it, the address is 125 N. Lakeview Avenue, Winter Garden, 34787. For more info, comment below, and we will connect you with Sarah.
SERVING THE HOMELESS AT HOUSE BLEND CAFE ON THANKSGIVING_Josh Taylor, GM of the cafe gave us an update on how things went Thanksgiving day. Many homeless came and received showers, hair cuts, clothes, a meal (on china and real silver ware), and more. There was an abundance of volunteers. It was an amazing time! One neat tidbit – a boy who was part of a homeless family that was there commented, “It’s been so long since we’ve eaten with real silver ware instead of a spork.” Later, another person receiving clothes took only one item and said, “There will be people who come along who need this more than me.” Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall see the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:3). The West Orange Times did a write up about the service project. You can read it by clicking here.
THE HOMELESS CD PROJECT_Mark Marsden shared an update on the homeless CD project. Things are falling into place for recording to be done by early January. The goal will be to make the CD available for purchase through the various local expressions of the Church of West Orange around Valentine’s Day. All proceeds will go to helping us purchase a shower trailer to provide showers for the homeless in the community. If you would be willing to help fund the production of the CD so that all of the proceeds can go to the shower trailer, please let us know by commenting below.
CAREER SEMINAR_Mark also mentioned that St. Pauls Pres (their campus is in Ocoee across from teh West Oaks Mall on hwy 50) will be hosting a Career Seminar on February 4th from 5:30 to 8:30. Comment below for more info, and we will connect you with Mark.
SUNDAY EMPHASES IN DECEMBER_as we announced last month, every Sunday in December (and some at other times), church families with the Church of West Orange are trying to collect toys (Dec 6th), socks (Dec 13th), underwear (Dec 20th), and grocery gift cards (Dec 27th) for impoverished families in the community. The TOYS can be dropped off to the office lobby of Whispering Oak Elementary School up to December 16th during school hours. We are working on the details for where to drop off the socks and underwear and grocery cards and will let you know ASAP. Be looking in 2010 for various weekly emphasis for collecting items, as well.
PRAYER AND PRAISE TOGETHER FOR THE WEST ORANGE COMMUNITY_plans are in the works for the Church of West Orange to gather together January 28th at 7pm to simply pray for and praise God for our local community, seeking wisdom as to how we can better be the church together to West Orange County and beyond. Please make plans to join us. We will let you know the location in the coming week.
We closed the meeting by asking a question for us all to ponder in the coming weeks – what if we resourced together to create a shared church facility that was not just for gathering?
What if we resourced together to create a shared church facility that embodied the essence of Luke 4:14-21 and Matthew 25:31-46?
Feeding the hungry. Sheltering the homeless. Providing help to families in crisis. Educating in basic life skills. Enabling reentry through job placement and financial counseling. And more. Pray with us. It just seems to me that God would smile on that.
Love y’all. Let’s keep being the church together.
-jason