Thanks be to God....

In this week of Thanksgiving, we are thankful for the opportunity to serve God in such a wonderful and  unique way with the Five & Two Food Truck.  December will be a special month for our ministry as we will help our friends at the Presbyterian Night Shelter celebrate Christmas.  We are in the middle of a tremendously successful campaign to gather new school uniforms for the children at the shelter.  

In our time with the mothers, children and support staff, we discovered that most of the children at the shelter only have one or two changes of school clothes.  Many of them come in under emergency status and may not have any proper clothes to go to school.  This drive will fill a great need at the shelter.  Something as simple as a fresh set of school clothes can give dignity and confidence to young people facing uncertainty and fear.

That is one of the greatest parts of the Five & Two Food Truck, it is truly a vehicle for ministry.  Sure, we serve great food to those in need, but more importantly we get to know those with whom we are in ministry.  In doing so, we are able to discover their needs and make lasting relationships.  

We are so thankful to be be actively making disciples for the transformation of the world.  I pray that you are able to reflect on what you are thankful for this week.  

Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving.

Halloween

Saturday night, children all over the city dressed up in their costumes, grabbed their bags or pumpkin baskets and went door to door trick-or-treating.  At least one night each year, people of all ages actively participate in “neighboring.” 

The Five & Two Food Truck was asked to be a part of a neighborhood Halloween carnival and we were delighted to accept the invitation.  A dedicated group of volunteers served almost 300 hot dogs to little superheroes, goblins and princesses in the neighborhood just behind our church.  These are our immediate neighbors, and for one night we took our church to them instead of asking them to come to us. 

That’s the beauty of our food truck ministry.  It allows us to be neighbors anywhere in this city, which the church is called to be. 

How much of a difference could be made in our world if we treated every day like Halloween, if we went door to door to check on our neighbors, have conversations,  meet new friends and build relationships? 

Curious how to do this?  I encourage you to take some time to check out this website:  http://artofneighboring.com/  

The United Methodist Church’s mission statement is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”  AHUMC is able to literally take our church into the community, any community, and we do.  We are actively neighboring all over this city and by doing so, making disciples and transforming the world.