How can your church be a blessing in your community? How is your church sharing the love of Jesus? Laura Witkowski tells how Lowell UMC had a simple idea and shared it widely.
LAURA WITKOWSKI
Associate Director for Lay Leadership Development, Michigan Conference
“This is my commandment: love each other just as I have loved you” (John 15:12, CEB).
Love is a common topic and theme in February. Even though I am not a big fan of the commercialized St. Valentine’s Day, I am still, as an Enneagram 2, highly focused on love.
In fact, I am a big fan of the move-your-love-into-action way Lowell United Methodist Church and other Grand Rapids area UMCs celebrate love through Community Support Month.
If we learned anything from the pandemic, it is that our community and service workers are the life and heartbeat of our communities, and they usually do not receive enough love. We are talking about healthcare workers, first responders, teachers, education support staff, public transportation drivers, restaurant servers, grocery store clerks and stockers, and many others.
In February 2022, Lowell UMC used the whole month to spread love into their community. They chose a different group of workers each week to recognize and thank for the difference they make: healthcare workers, first responders, educators, and service workers. The congregation raised over $4,000, packed and distributed gift bags, and set up donuts or treats in offices and buildings. They blessed over 3,000 community members!
This year, they presented the idea to other surrounding United Methodist churches, and several decided to join and celebrate their own communities. Word spread, the media got hold of it, and Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss signed an official declaration proclaiming February as Community Support Month for the entire city. Then, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer made the same proclamation for the whole state!
Three UMCs in Grand Rapids—Trinity UMC, Northlawn UMC, and Aldersgate UMC—along with Lowell UMC, have been busy creating gift bags that include things like hand lotion, hand warmers, breakfast bars, other treats, and, most importantly, a thank-you note. Some churches assemble the gift bags all at once, and some make them each week after worship. Some bags are assembled by community members, and others by high school groups. Individuals then take the bags out into the community—to fire stations, schools, emergency rooms, restaurants, and grocery stores—and spread the love.
And it’s not just gift bags. Depending on the church, Community Support Month may include providing breakfast for healthcare workers or lunch for a fire station, inviting a police officer to give the sermon during worship, or hosting a panel discussion so that your congregation can learn more. There are so many possibilities!
These ideas honor the selfless work of healthcare workers, first responders, educators, and service workers. The churches are expressing their gratitude in tangible ways as a congregation and as individuals.
I am an active member of Grand Rapids: Aldersgate UMC, and on our first Sunday in February, we honored first responders. We were blessed to have a detective sergeant from the City of Wyoming join us and share how his faith intersects with his work as a police officer. Our second Sunday will include a retired registered nurse sharing the personal side of being a healthcare worker. There is nothing more powerful than personal faith stories and the impact of being the hands and feet of Jesus. It was also a blessing to see our congregation assembling the bags and then taking them to bless others.
Did you notice a key piece of this project? It is the lay members of the church spreading the love. It’s you and me! A person does not need to go to seminary to make a difference in their community.
In the cold and cloudy doldrums of winter, how can your church be a blessing in your community? How is your church sharing the love of Jesus? Lowell UMC had a simple idea and shared it widely.
Are you interested in learning more? Contact Davin Risk at Lowell UMC, [email protected], or Matt Witkowski at Trinity UMC, [email protected]. Also, check out the Community Support Month Project Facebook page for more inspiring ideas.
Last Updated on February 16, 2023