One hot and sunny morning in early June my husband, Brian and I met with a small group of like minded individuals in the kitchen of the Gethsemane Church campus. We all came from different walks of life, but we had one goal in mind – to love and serve our neighbors.
Jesus has called each one of us to love our neighbors as ourselves, even when those neighbors don’t always look or act like us. What a privilege it is to follow our Savior’s lead, and serve, rather than be served. With that in mind we set about decorating brown paper sacks, preparing sandwiches, and assembling lunches to distribute to the residents of a nearby apartment complex.
Once the preparation was complete the fun began in earnest. We piled into our vehicles and headed to our destination. When we arrived we set up a tent and began to play music. Some children wandered by out of curiosity and we were able to offer them more than just a much needed lunch. We were able to show the love of God in a truly tangible way. Just a simple smile and a welcome greeting was an outpouring of the Lord’s love for these, His children.
We then walked around the apartment complex offering lunches to anyone we saw and greeting our neighbors with a smile or a fist bump.
The gratitude of these wonderful people, to whom we had given so little, stayed with us long after the event ended, reminding us that, as always, we can’t out give God. God had truly blessed us as we, in turn, sought to bless others.
This was an amazing ministry and we can’t wait for the next one on July 17th. Please consider joining us in this wonderful service project  – you will be blessed beyond measure. And if you are unable to be there in person please pray for God to bless this ministry and each person affected by it.
 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25 37-40
Claire McShane