Deacons for Grace Christian Reformed Church in Chatham, Ontario, planned seven community service projects for the seven weeks between Easter and Pentecost this year.
Church members were encouraged to participate in projects ranging from painting storage containers at a community mission to helping run a Community Living art show at the local public library.
Other projects included running a food drive and hosting a bike rodeo.
Aaron Medenblik, a deacon who helped organize the events, said their purpose was to serve and give. “We give a lot to the church—this is to get outside . . . to tell [people] why we’re doing it and who we are. It gives us another opportunity to talk about God and who we are as Grace Christian Reformed Church.”
This is the second year the church has served in this way. Last year members of the worship committee decided to take the denominational Easter to Pentecost theme of reaching out to the world and arrange some concrete actions as a church. They teamed up with the deacons to arrange “some one-time events in which we participate in various community related projects,” according to worship committee member Julie Coolen.
“There was a huge response to the projects, so we decided to do it again this year,” she said.
Another reason to repeat the events was that one of the groups who benefited from last year’s volunteers contacted the church to ask them to come back. “That’s a good indication of how the community responded to our service,” said Myrna Panjer, who helped coordinate the projects both years.
Deacons said that participation was “very strong” again this year.
About the Author
Anita Brinkman is a freelance news correspondent for The Banner. She lives in Chatham, Ontario.