Dear Friends,

Not long ago, I read a new story of a congregation in Phoenix that established a feeding program to reach out to the hungry and homeless that lived around the church’s property. It was very successful. So successful, unfortunately, that it drew the ire of local business that disapproved of the quality of persons now frequenting their streets. Legal action ensued and the complaint made it to court. There a judge ruled that the Crossroads United Methodist Church must stop the feeding program because feeding people was not central in the church’s mission. I remember thinking that Jesus would be very surprised by that judgment.

When you get right down to it, church is about two things: worship and mission.  And mission takes several forms. Mission is about how we welcome people to our congregation. Mission is about how we invite people all around us to share in the gospel. Mission is about sending nine people from our congregation to serve the people of Haiti. Mission is about sending ninety canned food items to Hope Station. Mission is not just about one’s spirit. It is not just about one’s stomach. It is about the whole person – body, mind and soul, and if a church is not very intentional about its mission, then it fails to be a church.

One thing that has become very obvious in these hard economic times is that the numbers of hungry, homeless and cold have risen. Our church gets requests for help three or four times a week. That is just here. Across our community, agencies, ministries and churches are stretched. But in light of this, several good things are happening.

One, our church is responding with financial resources. Last year, 17% of our income went toward benevolences. That is up from about 12% the year before. The percentage was affected in part because of our response to natural disasters, but the increase was also part of a concerted effort of the session to raise that percentage.

Two, our church leadership recently approved our participation in a book bag feeding program that cares for chronically hungry children in our community. More information is inside this newsletter, but it is a new program that is drawing support from concerned individuals across Wilson.

Our mission committee has taken deliberate steps to identify and reach out to the hungry and hurting. They need your help. Find a mission for yourself this year. Consider not only your financial giving, but your physical participation.  In such ways, you live out your discipleship. In these ways, we become church.