July 6, 2012
I love
puzzles. My family used to spend hours gathered together around a table putting
together 1000 and 1500 piece puzzles. Frequently we would plug away for hours
staring at the pieces and making almost no progress, and then suddenly the
pieces would start falling into place and in what felt like a few minutes a
significant portion of the puzzle would suddenly be complete.
These past few
months have been a little bit like putting a puzzle together. Pieces have been
scattered all over – pieces I knew fit together – but nothing seemed to be
falling into place. But in these past two weeks, suddenly two big sections of
the puzzle that is outreach at Saxapahaw United Methodist Church have begun to
fall into place. Sure, a few pieces are still missing, but for the first time I
can see where we are going. And let me tell you – it is exciting!
Let me start
with the possibility of a daycare at Sax UMC. Last November God placed Monica
Pallett in my path. She is a talented woman with an extraordinary vision for a
daycare in Saxapahaw. She loved our church, seeing great potential for a
top-notch five-star daycare in our building. We spent the next six months working
through our largest obstacle – an adequate septic system. The first major piece
of the puzzle fell into place when we were approved to put in a septic system
that would meet the needs of a maximum capacity daycare. Immediately after that
several other pieces fell into place. John Jordan generously offered $20,000
toward the necessary building improvements. Rick Christy and the Fire Marshall
discussed upgrades we need to make to the building no matter what to comply
with fire code. And several highly qualified women have contacted Monica to
talk about partnering with her in this ministry. While there is still much hard
work to be done, we clearly have what it takes to have a successful daycare in
this church. I see the Holy Spirit working powerfully as these pieces are
falling into place and cannot help but praise God for this extraordinary
opportunity to serve the children of this community.
The second big
part of this puzzle has been our desire to open a food pantry to feed the
hungry in Southern Alamance. From the start, we have wanted an ecumenical food
pantry – something that draws together the churches across the area into a
shared ministry. Yet from the start we have run into incredible diversity in
our theology and practice – just what did Jesus mean when he called us to feed
the hungry? One of the incredible gifts of this congregation has been the recognition
that we had the resources to purchase a location for the food pantry, giving us
a starting place. We now own the future food pantry of Southern Alamance on
Highway 87 just north of Rumley Road. While this was a major piece of the
puzzle, the next pieces did not fall into place until recently. Last week
Brenda Allen, the executive director of Loaves & Fishes, made an
extraordinary offer. She suggested that we allow Loaves & Fishes to start
and run the food pantry for a year, giving us a solid foundation, the resources
we need to get started, and time to see which churches actually want to be
involved. Then, when the folks of Southern Alamance take over it will truly be
a shared ministry of the community. Again, there are many details to work out
and much hard work to be done, but I have been blown away by how powerfully the
Holy Spirit is smiling down upon us. God is clearly calling us to be kingdom
builders.
This Sunday,
July 8, the Church Council will meet to discuss our next steps. Beyond
affirming the Trustees decision to make the needed changes to the building for
a daycare, we will start to envision a Daycare Transition Team. Who are the people
who can best help us envision a successful, five-star, Christ-centered daycare?
Beyond discussing the needed improvements to our food pantry building, we will
vote to approve inviting Loaves & Fishes to start this food ministry and
discuss the details. These are big decisions and very exciting steps!
What can you
do? First of all, pray. Pray every day for these ministries. Pray for God’s
blessing. Pray for wisdom and guidance. Pray for the people who have given and
who will give of their time and gifts to bring these ministries to fruition.
Secondly, volunteer to help. We are going to need everything from visionaries
and planners to builders and doers. Third, ask questions. Ask the Trustees. Ask
the Church Council. Ask me. Together with God I know we can do great things!
Grace and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Sue
