Dear United Church of Christ Community, We at the National office hope this message finds you well. We wanted to take a moment to extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you who contributed to this year’s One
Great Hour of Sharing® Offering. You are truly making a remarkable impact in the lives of individuals and communities both near and far. As a vital part of the United Church of Christ’s special mission offerings, the One Great Hour of Sharing® supports disaster relief, refugee aid, and development projects, embodying the essence of Love of Neighbor.
This year, our local congregations and members came together in a powerful display of solidarity, living out the message from Matthew 5:14: “You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.” Your contributions have helped illuminate countless lives, bringing hope, healing, and resilience to those in need.
If you haven’t had a chance to contribute yet, there’s still time! You can make a difference by donating online or sending a check to PO Box 71957, Cleveland, OH 44194.
We also want to express our gratitude through a special thank you video prepared just for you. Click here to view our heartfelt message of appreciation. Once again, thank you for your generosity and compassion. Together, we are shining brightly as a beacon of hope and love in our community and beyond.
(L) Brittany with Allendale UMC United Women in Faith group; (R) “Here is a box. I had it from the Queen!” –Cymbeline, Act III, Scene 4. More drag queen bingo photos with Shakespeare quotes on our Facebook page
Friends,
“I love coming to the Saturday morning breakfast,” a volunteer said recently. “It’s fun and energizing, and then you can continue your day.”
That kind of enthusiastic support allowed us to serve an average of 130 meals per week in April. Thanks to everyone who helped, both on and off site.
As our snowbirds head north, we still need volunteers to fill their shoes. Contact volunteer coordinator Brittany Howard at (727) 637-4863 or brihoward.m@gmail.com for details.
One group that has stepped up is students from USF St. Pete, such as Garrett, Melissa and Sarah (above). Special thanks to Sarah Percy, who has been an enthusiastic recruiter of her fellow students and a co-worker with Eric Peters at the front door.
You can meet more of them on our Facebook page.On the page we have also posted photos of the frivolity and fun at our Shakespeare’s Birthday Drag Queen Bingo, each tagged with an appropriate Shakespeare quote, including the Celebrate Outreach board reading the party preparation from Romeo and Juliet. In honor of May the Fourth Be with You, the Facebook page also features Dapper Dan, the Jedi Janitor who has vowed to sweep the galaxy clean of evil.
Special thanks to the Allendale UMC United Women in Faith group for inviting Brittany to speak at their May meeting, and for their enthusiasm for our work (above; left). If you would like Brittany to speak to your group, contact her at (727) 637-4863 or brihoward.m@gmail.com
At the end of the email is an updated list of our summer needs of food, clothing and toiletries.
• Volunteers arrive at 7:30 AM, and we finish serving by 9:30.
• To get a good idea of the Saturday morning breakfast, along with a plethora of puns and pop culture references, please peruse our Celebrate Outreach Facebook page.
• Contact John at sjstew@gte.net for a list of breakfast guidelines: what to expect, what to wear, where to park, etc., and for information on preparing food offsite.
You may need to boost your volume a little in order to hear the description I spoke at the beginning. Rev. Kim bought a book of Shaker hymn tunes. One of these she asked me to arrange for the choir to sing today, Mother’s Day. The Blessed Mother, in the Shaker tradition, was the founder of the Shaker sect. There’s another phrase you my hear with is “love, love,” which is, the best I can tell, a term that means the same as agape, or divine love. The song, as it was passed down by Mother indicates where people should dance–they believe that dancing was prayer–and where people should speak in tongues (they called it “shout”). I picked a bunch of words that relate to motherhood, like Work, Song, Fatih, Peace, Care, Hope, Love, Joy, Dance, Soul, Life, Home, Dream, Heart, and the choir in certain passages are to intone words of their choice from that set of words, randomly.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 