Sara Stadem | Editor
With the help of her parish, Pastor Susan Jennys and the Colton United Methodist Church was able to give back to those in need thanks to an advent project.
“Typically, you go to a store and buy an advent calendar and open a little door… We took the advent calendar and did a reverse advent calendar. It was to add something to the box, a nonperishable food item, etc., and we put out a list of ideas that could be used,” Pastor Jennys explained.
Pastor Jennys further explained that during advent if someone adds an item each day, it really adds up and most people, at some time, have been put into situations that they have struggled for food.
“Bishop asked us to go to online only for services which was a bummer so we needed a focus to reach out to people. We were bummed that we couldn’t see each other in person and so usually what helps is reaching out to others and helping others which is why we decided to do this,” Pastor Jennys explained.
With the food insecurities that have been taking place with job loss and more with COVID-19, Pastor Jennys said that her parish felt they could help families in their communities to make a difficult time a little easier.
Pastor Jennys explained that she had a lot of folks in parish that just wanted to reach out and help others. All of the items were boxed in each home, one item per day. Some people got creative and bought a tote or laundry basket and filled those. Each family in the church that wanted to participate would fill a box at their home and bring it to church at the end of Advent.
From there, the parish was ready to hand out boxes of food. The Colton United Methodist Church held a drive-through on Saturday, January 16, from 12-1 pm. There were smaller boxes and larger boxes and with limited quantities, it was on a first come, first served basis. A volunteer would ask if they were a small family or larger family and get the appropriate box for the family.
Pastor Jennys was very happy with the outcome. She indicated, “On average, we have 40-50 that worship each Sunday and we had about 30 boxes from the Colton community. So, a lot of folks did the project and we were able to help many.”
“This parish is awesome at doing local mission projects. They have done so many local community and county projects, feeding the homeless in Madison, called the Gathering, and helps serve a meal regularly,” Pastor Jennys stated. She continued, “They are a very outreached oriented church. It’s a real passion of theirs.”
Colton United Methodist Church is hoping to help more families again on the last Saturday of February with the same project. Pastor Jennys said if others are wanting to donate, she suggests connecting on their Facebook page (United Methodist Churches of Chester & Colton) where the suggested items are put in the reverse advent calendar box.