Beech Grove UMC, in Driver, is continuing FEEDING OUR COMMUNITY with the addition of our BLESSING BOX, which is located street side by our church. The box, decorated by the children of the church, is filled with non perishable foods, and people are encouraged to “TAKE WHAT THEY NEED with God’s Blessings.” Church and community members are asked to “BRING WHAT YOU CAN with God’s Blessings.” Together we can stop hunger in our community one family at a time.
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A few weeks ago Deep Creek UMC was honored to host a Helping Hands Mission Event for children. The two-day camp was such a blessing. 49 children and 20 adults from across the district and conference had a wonderful time serving God through serving others.
The campers were welcomed with worship and a commissioning service and then put straight to work helping others. The campers made and delivered over 180 appreciation bags to Chesapeake Fire, Rescue and Police. Not only did they receive the gift bags but each officer, fire fighter and rescue personnel was prayed over and for by the campers. The first day concluded with dinner, worship and Communion on the beach. After returning to church the mission team worked hard finishing up the gift bags and enjoyed a movie together. The next morning began by delivering more appreciation bags to our public servants and then all the campers moved on to sort toys for the upcoming Christmas project at Union Mission in Norfolk. The campers spent two hours and sorted a warehouse full of toys to help needy children experience Christmas this year. We contributed a total of 120 volunteer hours at Union Mission. After we completed our service at Union Mission we returned to the church to package 600 pounds of rice, 300 hundred pounds of beans, and 500 pounds of potatoes for the food pantry that Deep Creek UMC operates. So many families will be blessed by the work of these hands. We are so thankful to all the churches who sent missionaries to our community this year. We look forward to serving as a mission outpost again next summer for the Helping Hands Event. If you would like more info on how to get your children involved next year, contact Robin Cannon at [email protected]. A portion of land surrounding Beech Grove United Methodist Church, in the Driver community of Suffolk, is doing a new thing. The congregation has started a new outreach project - a Community Garden - to provide for those in need and to engage the community.
The goal of the project is to transform this portion of land into a successful Community Garden Project, with the purpose of feeding people, building fellowship among church members and the community, and caring for God's creation. Church and community members are encouraged to help plant, pick and sort the vegetables, which are then available free to anyone who wants local, healthy, and fresh food at no cost. Sharing God's bounty from the Community Garden has become a new way for Beech Grove UMC to share God's love with church and community members. The mission of Feed Kempsville is pretty simple: "As the hands and feet of Christ, we are committed to ending hunger in our local community." Recent estimates indicate that over 11.2% of the population is in need in Virginia Beach. In the zip codes closest to St. Andrew’s (23462 and 23464) it’s estimated that between 14,000 and 30,000 people experience food insecurity. Feed Kempsville is a new feeding ministry that started in the spring of 2014 at St. Andrew's UMC in Virginia Beach. This feeding ministry is in partnership with the Virginia Beach City Public Schools and the food pantry at Church of the Ascension. Feed Kempsville aims to feed the hungry in their local community, provide a focused, meaningful and energizing local mission for the people of St. Andrew's, to enchance the relevance of the church in the local community, and bring others to Christ. In addition, Feed Kempsville planted a 500 square foot "community garden" on the church property. The harvest is donated to the Church of the Ascension's food pantry to help meet the nutritional needs of the poor in the community. Recently Feed Kempsville was honored by Volunteer Hampton Roads as their faith-based organization winner for 2017. In addition, they were recently featured on WVEC-TV in Norfolk. The video was featured on the 13 News Now Facebook (click here to view it). Recently, Feed Kempsville initiated a new program to help alleviate lunch money debt for kids in need at two local elementary schools. As a result of this ministry, the door has opened for the church to begin working with neighborhood children in developing their reading skills. Plans are being made to start fostering these relationships to equip and empower children through reading. Click here to learn more. |
ERD BlogThe latest information, reflections, and notifications from the Elizabeth River District. Archives
June 2018
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