Michigan Church Has Day to Shine

On a Sunday morning in May during the worship hour, the pews of Covenant Life Christian Reformed Church were empty and the doors were closed. Instead, church members fanned out all over Grand Haven, Mich., to serve in various ways.

“We started Day to Shine four years ago. One of our members saw an article in a Christian magazine highlighting a church that closed its doors on a Sunday morning and went out into the community to serve. She came to me and said, ‘We need to be doing this. We need to think outside of ourselves more,’” said Diane Wiersma, director of care ministry for Covenant Life.

“Doing this on a Sunday morning has broken down many stereotypes about Christians in our community. One elderly woman we served by cleaning her yard said, ‘It is so refreshing to see the church helping. You are not just a bunch of pew sitters, you are actually doing something!’”

After a short commissioning service, over 500 people were sent out to over 20 locations in the community for activities including maintenance in a butterfly garden at a local elementary school, removing a snow fence at the beach on Lake Michigan, visiting with residents at a care facility, making cards for soldiers and missionaries, painting houses, and preparing lots of garden beds and planting around town.

“I have had folks tell me over these past years that Day to Shine Sunday is their favorite Sunday. Some have chosen to make Covenant Life their church home because of this day,” said Wiersma. “It is really just a privilege to join the Lord in what he is already doing.”