Our Serve-a-thon is a way we choose to live the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. beyond MLK Sunday. This year we had a goal of 500 hours of service, and you came up with …. 1,303!
You volunteered at food shelves, supported people in recovery, tutored students, assisted with tax returns, advocated for the incarcerated, encouraged struggling neighbors, gave rides, donated blood, taught English and more.
And many of you served in response to a particular need. Our Serve-a-thon coincided with ICE’s unprecedented surge in our metro area, which affected thousands of vulnerable neighbors who were suddenly in need of significant help. Many people asked what the church should do and this is what Greg shared:
“At the center of the gospel, is our call to love like God loves and to care about our neighbors, to protect our neighbors, especially the ones who are vulnerable, especially those who are oppressed, and especially foreigners and immigrants and aliens, because one of the most dominant themes in the Bible is care for the foreigner and the illegal, the immigrant and the alien … And this isn’t about playing politics, and it’s not about trying to run the government of the world or anything of the sort. We’re just trying to protect our neighbors and care for our neighbors and love on our neighbors, because that’s our mandate in the Kingdom of God.”
John and Ruth Ann responded to this call by volunteering to stand watch outside a school during pickup and drop off times. John says, “It was emotional! We were able to mentally put ourselves in the place of the principal and staff and share the fear they carried and witness the love they expressed as they opened car doors and embraced their kids.”
Ruth Ann adds, “Many families from this school were feeling afraid. Standing in our neon vests we became another statement to the children and their families that the community was there for them and cared.”
At another school, Emily also kept watch. “It was a rather simple way to serve (although a bit chilly some mornings!). Helping in this way gave me the opportunity to pray for and offer a smile to people coming to school in the morning.”
Shannon and Jerry decided to volunteer with Arrive Ministries, an organization that Woodland has worked with in the past. Arrive serves refugees and needed help delivering groceries to families afraid to leave their homes. So, on the first Friday of February, Shannon and Jerry delivered a week’s worth of groceries to six families, and have done so every week since. Shannon says, “Arrive is going to continue to deliver groceries as long as there are people living in fear and so Jerry and I are going to continue with Friday deliveries for them as long as needed. The truth is we are all in this life together and we may be the neighbor/stranger in need of help any day in this unpredictable world.”
Sharon also volunteered for grocery delivery, and felt a very personal connection to the work. She says, “I felt the rhetoric against Somalis rather personally because I have quite a few Somali students in my classes. After a student was taken by ICE agents brandishing weapons on the campus where I work, quite a few of my students of color were afraid to attend in person and attended the final week of classes via Zoom. I really found my calling after hearing that Valley View Elementary in Columbia Heights, a few blocks from where I used to live, had 25 kids who had a parent taken by ICE, including little 5-year-old Liam. The need was so great—for a while they had 20-30 requests for groceries coming in every day! So I began delivering to families who live in my old neighborhood. Even though I haven’t lived there for over 35 years, it still feels like my neighborhood, and those families still somehow feel like my neighbors.”
Michelle was connected to a group started by a Latina woman organizing for her community. As the group grew, they needed more space to store food and supplies. Michelle says, “I knew I had a very large garage that was not being used and tables, a fridge, freezer, etc. to house items. I also had the ability to be home for drop-offs and pick-ups. We were very ‘under cover’ to ensure no one was being followed as the pickups were from food shelves and people’s homes. I was SO very sad for those that felt like they couldn’t leave their homes to get food, so it was wonderful to feel like I was being a part of the solution. I was also humbled to be a part of a community that was doing something and met wonderful people who renewed my hope in the fact that most people are good and want to serve.”
In this unprecedented time, these volunteers, and many more, took to heart the
Kingdom call to love our immigrant neighbors.
We are grateful for each one of you who served in such varied and creative ways, and we hope you’ll carry on!
