Still Thinking on Stop Hunger Now

I am just thrilled about this past weekend and the impact our church made for children in the world! Working with the Stop Hunger Now organization, we packaged 31,320 meals that will be distributed to areas around the world decimated by poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Isn’t it amazing what can happen when a group comes together to accomplish a task?

As I helped Ryan, the representative from Stop Hunger Now, load the truck, I already started thinking to our next event. What will be our goal? How much money will we need to raise? How many volunteers will it take to accomplish the task? I pondered these questions while…get this…I was on my way to eat lunch at Fabiano’s Pizza in Newnan. The irony was not lost on me and all I could do was chuckle. While children long for the 25-cent meals, I was off to spend quite a bit more on pizza, salad, hot wings, and soft drinks. So much of Stop Hunger Now’s mission is to raise awareness that malnutrition is a dilemma that can be solved in our lifetime! I think, at least for me, awareness was raised.

While we might struggle in our society to grasp the scope of the dilemma of poverty in the world, we truly are blessed beyond measure. Stop Hunger Now reports that currently in the world today, there is enough food to feed each man, woman, and child four-and-one-half pounds a day. Think about that. So in essence, the problem with malnutrition isn’t a supply problem as much as it is an awareness and distribution problem.

There might be enough food in the world to feed every person right now, but we cannot solve the problem of world hunger all on our own. Regardless of desire, we just can’t. What we can do, however, is remember that we do have the power to make a difference in the lives of people, and that is precisely what we should do! The sheer enormity of the task does not absolve us from doing something. It reminds me of the story of the little boy tossing starfish back into the sea that had washed up on the shore. When an older man asked the boy why he was so determined because he possibly couldn’t make a difference for all the starfish, the boy remained resolute, “I can make a difference for this one.”

Our task is very much the same. Though Cokes Chapel alone cannot solve the crisis of world hunger, we can do our part to help make a difference for the people that we can. There is a great quote that says, “Sometimes the things we can't change end up changing us instead. (Unknown)”. As we fulfill the call to make a difference for those we can, we undoubtedly will come to grips with the enormity of the task. We cannot allow this to deter us, however, because the things we can do will make a difference. And this, my friends – just as I hoped you experienced after this Stop Hunger Now campaign – can change you!

Church family, please know how proud I am to be serving among and with you. This church is making a major difference in our community, our region, and our world. There might be times when we feel like we could or should do more, and that is good. My prayer is that we remain committed to the task of making new and better followers of Jesus Christ to change the world and never allow ourselves to be discouraged or deterred by the massiveness of the task. This is what it means to “Boldly Go!” into the world with, in, and for the love of God! It can change the world, beginning with you!

Stop Hunger Now THIS Saturday

Well, we are almost there! Since the start of Lent in February, we have been engaged in a campaign with the Stop Hunger Now relief organization to provide meals for those stricken with hunger caused by poverty, tragedy, and/or disaster. You have heard the statistics that every three seconds someone dies from hunger related illnesses caused by malnutrition…half of those who perish are children! So far, Stop Hunger Now has packaged 93,943,437 meals for the impoverished in 76 different countries. This week, we will do our part to add to that total.

In 2011, we hosted a Stop Hunger Now event and packaged almost 23,000 meals! As we began Lent this year, we set a goal of packaging 25,000 meals. We exceeded that goal on Easter Sunday and increased it to 30,000 meals. Friends, let me tell you, in the three-plus weeks since Easter, we have exceeded THAT goal, too! Your generosity and faithfulness to this call and challenge to help people in the name of Jesus is encouraging and life-changing! As I mentioned in both services this past Sunday, what might just be a quarter in a basket, offering plate, or soup pot to us, is transformed into a life saving meal through Stop Hunger Now!

Our packaging event is this Saturday, April 20^th, in the Community Hall. The schedule is as follows:

-          The truck will arrive at 8:30am and we need help unloading and setting up the packing stations.
-          The first shift will run from 9:30-11:30am.
-          The second shift will run from 11:30-1:30pm.

As of right now, we need more help in the 11:30am-1:30pm shift. And yes, those who arrive at 9:30am are able to stay throughout the entire day, provided there is enough work for everyone (which there will be). If you have not registered for a shift yet, you can do so on the church website by clicking this link: http://www.cokeschapel.org/stophungernow.html.

A significant part of our Christian witness is to care for those less fortunate in the name of Jesus. When we show our generosity by caring for people who could never repay us, we are, as the Bible says, doing it for Jesus himself!

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”

(Matthew 25.37&40, NLT)

So as we gather this Saturday for what will be a fun and uplifting day, know that your work and service will be making a major difference in the life of a person in need. Don’t you want to be a part of that? Sign up today. Come join us. Be ready to be a part of something life-saving and world-changing!

 

If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.

(Isaiah 58.10, MSG)

He Lives

I am still basking in the glow of this past Holy Week, culminating in our dynamic Easter morning Resurrection Celebrations! It seems like so long ago, but beginning with our Easter Egg Hunt and Bunny Sock Hop, we were engaged in ministry and outreach to the community and world for nine straight days! We had two special Palm Sunday worship services; the Celebration Singers blessed us with the Easter Cantata; we held Communion services daily at noon; the two groups that studied the 24 Hours That Changed the World book completed their journeys; the Stations of the Cross walk-through helped many people – young and not-so-young alike – come face-to-face with GOD’s love for them; we remembered Jesus’ Last Supper in our Maundy Thursday service; we joined with others in the community at St. Mary Magdalene as Pastor John spoke at the Stations of the Cross service on Good Friday at 3pm; later on Good Friday evening we nailed our sins to the cross as we reflected on the “seven last words of Christ”; on Saturday, groups arrived to transform our two worship spaces to help us celebrate Easter; and on Easter, we enjoyed three unique and dynamic worship celebrations with messages from Mr. Larry Carter, Pastor John, and yours truly. And through the whole week, we drew attention to our Stop Hunger Now project where we are aiming to feed 25,000 children in locations of the world decimated by poverty, tragedy, and violence. It was a dynamic week to be sure, and though many woke up this past Monday morning feeling a little weary, the profundity of Holy Week provided the necessary spring-in-the-step to keep on shinin’ the light and love of GOD in Christ Jesus!!!

It was an amazing week, and I cannot say enough how grateful I am for the incredibly large number of people who helped make it happen. Many hours of preparation and work went in to the planning, implementation, and execution of such a busy and dynamic week. Hearts were touched and lives were changed as a result of the faithful service of so many, and Pastor John and I want to offer a resounding and heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who sacrificed so much to help us experience Jesus’ sacrifice for us in a new and profound way. Your work has made a difference for the Kingdom of GOD, so again, know how thankful we are for you and all you do!

As Pastor John was closing his message in the 9am traditional Easter service, he quoted the lines of the poignant hymn, He Lives, which we also sang in the 7:30am Sunrise Service. He spelled out the lines of the song in a way to bring a new and living perspective to them. I decided I wanted to share these with you as we continue to reflect over our powerful and exciting Holy Week and Easter:

I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever foes may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and He talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives, He live, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart.

May the power that raised Jesus from the dead also raise you from any feelings or fears of disappointment, discouragement, or despair! In Jesus’ resurrection, all of the barriers that separate us from GOD were removed so our hearts can know the beauty of a relationship with the LORD! So my prayer for you following our Easter Celebrations is that you may be aware like never before of the loving peace of GOD that envelops and encourages you!

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:38-39)