Okay, we admit it. We waaaay underestimated just how many service hours y’all had in you. We kicked off our Serve-a-thon with the humble goal of 250 hours between MLK Day and the end of February, and you put in 738! If you look closely at the graphic above you can see just how diverse your acts of service were, too!
This Serve-a-thon was a way to follow the original intention of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, which was to be a “national day of service.” Dr. King set an example of service and told us that, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve….You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be that servant.”
His words mirror those of Jesus, who of course also calls us to service. Thank you for taking them to heart!
Here are some examples of the ways you served, both as part of ongoing volunteering and specific events.
Josh
I am a big fan of metal music and play bass guitar (sometimes for the Heroes Gate worship teams), and I go to a lot of concerts. I stumbled upon HeartSupport while watching reaction videos to a lot of bands I really enjoy. They exist to offer unconditional love, support, and encouragement to people who comment on music reaction videos on their YouTube channel.
I have had my own struggles with mental health, and wanted to find a way to give back and help support others so they didn’t have to go it alone on their journey. Once a week I host an online Discord chat for volunteers to read through some of the comments on HeartSupport’s YouTube channel where people are seeking help for a specific mental health challenge they are going through, or grief, addiction, or any other life events that they want to share. We then craft replies to those individuals and send them hope and encouragement, as well as advocate for them to seek out medical advice or therapy services to work through their current situations. We don’t give advice since we aren’t therapists ourselves, we just listen, love, and let people know they are not alone and that someone out there took the time to read their comment and to give them some love and positivity to keep going.
Roger
I’ve found a great deal of satisfaction as a retired businessman volunteering through Service Corp of Retired Executives for the past 15 years. SCORE is a non-profit organization providing free mentoring, education programs, workshops, and webinars to small businesses. As a mentor I work with people who want to start or grow a business. Some want someone to talk to about their ideas and I just listen. I’ve learned so much, with and from my clients.
Peg
After retiring from healthcare, life seemed to drag me toward advocating for quality healthcare and human dignity for people who are seriously ill or dying. It took a while for me to see this as ministry, and step more graciously into the complexity and challenges experienced by those unable to advocate for themselves. At times I am overcome with the sadness of situations, and I need a reminder that it is a gift to serve!
Craig and Alison
We saw that our neighbours were moving out and we got the idea to maybe invite the new people moving in for Sunday dinner as a welcome. That Sunday morning we were treated to Cedrick’s Sermon on ‘Radical Hospitality’. This convinced us that inviting our neighbours round had been the right thing to do. We wanted to extend the invite because we remember what it’s like moving house. The fatigue, the stress and the inability to find your favourite frying pan. You know it’s in a box somewhere in the house, just NOT in the one labelled, ‘Kitchen’! We had a wonderful meal and a lovely time with our new neighbours. They were especially moved that someone reached out the way we did.
It is difficult getting to know the people round about us. We’re so wrapped up in jobs, family and, yes, church life, that we don’t manage to connect with those right next door. There is risk involved. What if we don’t like them? What if they don’t like us? What if we’re polar opposites in terms of politics, faith, religion? But it’s worthwhile taking that risk. I know our lives have been enriched by the connections that were made that weekend.
Sam, Kirsten, Samara
When the foreign aid funds were cut by the new administration, it halted federal funding for new refugees who are approved to be here. We brought dinner and groceries to an Ethiopian single mother and her 8 year old daughter who were running out of food. They did not speak any English or read their languages so our 9 month old was the language-barrier breaker. They were so excited to see groceries and a baby, but most of all for the spicy dinner we brought as they missed similar food from back home.
Penny
I meet with ESL students to practice conversational English. I currently have three: a 75 year old woman from Iran, a 35 year old woman from Vietnam and my newest is a 21 year old man from the Ivory Coast. A friend of mine who works at Stillwater High School asked me if I would consider meeting with this young Ivorian who needed help getting more proficient in English so he could graduate or get his GED. I started working with him at the end of January. We meet every Monday and he just found out that Stillwater High will allow him to “walk” at their graduation in June!
The experience of working with ESL students has been life-giving and oh, so fun! It’s a highlight to see people make huge leaps in their language abilities. Instilling CONFIDENCE in them is the biggest, most important thing by far! There’s even a guy in our Gathering Group who saw me enjoying this and then he signed up to help with ESL classes in his community!
Angie
I am a retired teacher and my therapy dog, Finn, and I visit hospitals, schools and a memory care facility. We are certified through an organization called Pet Partners. Animals give unconditional love and have a wonderful sense of knowing what individual people need. I believe bringing joy weekly to people is a gift that God has given me!
Josiah
I chose to volunteer with Settled because it seemed like a fun, truly hands-on way to help the church and serve the community. My volunteer work involved demolition of old bathrooms, prepping for new bathrooms, building flower boxes for the tiny homes, and more. I had fun working and connecting with the other volunteers each week and hearing about their stories and lives. I also really enjoyed the fact that I was having a direct impact helping others.
We love all this—well done, Woodland!
