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Church's mission day turns out '2 B A Blessing'
(by Sue Reid - October 07, 2010)
Church's mission day turns out '2 B A Blessing'
By SUE REID
Over 225 members of Pioneer Memorial Presbyterian Church in Solon rolled up their sleeves and spent the day reaching out to others last Saturday.
They performed such tasks as painting, cleaning, installing insulation and serving meals, all part of the church's third annual Day of Mission.
Church member Sherrie Reynolds, of Solon, said it is a time to be able to give without expecting anything in return.
"The satisfaction of fulfilling a need in the community that someone has is a great reward," Mrs. Reynolds said.
Church members began identifying those in need early this year, Tom McClure, project coordinator and resident of Bainbridge, said.
As a result, 15 sites were chosen with 15 teams selected to take on the mission. Church members young and old gathered at the church early Saturday to depart to the various sites, which included Chagrin Falls Park in Bainbridge, the City Mission and Transitional Housing Inc., North Presbyterian Church and the Bridge of Hope food pantry, all in Cleveland, to name a few.
"This congregation was hungry and ready for hands-on mission opportunities," the Rev. Jeff Peterson-Davis, co-pastor, said.
The Rev. Davis, along with his wife, Kerri, who also serves as co-pastor, began a similar mission while serving a church in Atlanta.
"The first time we introduced it in the 800-member church, 40 people participated," the Rev. Davis recalled. In 2007, when it began at Pioneer, he said, the church had just 350 members and 200 volunteers. The church, which is on Solon Road, has since grown to over 450 members, and is the only Presbyterian church in Solon and surrounding areas, including Chagrin Falls, Twinsburg and Aurora.
"It is an opportunity for us to be the hands and feet of Christ by providing needed services to ministries and agencies in the Greater Cleveland area," the Rev. Davis said.
He said that part of the Day of Mission is to create a "sustained relationship" with the organizations they serve.
"It's not a one-shot deal," the Rev. Davis said. "We want to be able to form relationships with these programs and ministries so we can be involved on throughout the year, with other hands-on opportunities." Those can include church members either volunteering at these organizations or offering financial support, he said. The Rev. Davis gave as an example the church's continued relationship with the Chagrin Falls Park, which has been one of the mission sites each year.
"We are always looking for new partnerships of ministries and programs that have the greatest need where hands-on support from our members will make a significant difference," the Rev. Davis said. One mission was as simple as preparing a meal for Cleveland's domestic violence center, and delivering it to a undisclosed location, he said.
The Rev. Davis also said the church provides all of the supplies needed to complete the mission.
"Our perspective is, this is an absolute mission for them," the Rev. Davis said. "They don't have to provide anything but the partnership.
"We build into the mission project at the church enough funds to provide the needed supplies for whatever the projects are," he said.
"It's definitely a church-wide effort," Mr. McClure said. "It takes a lot of people to get something like this put together."
"I love that we are working side by side with those we are serving," Mrs. Reynolds said.
This year's theme, which was on T-shirts worn by church participants, was "2 B A Blessing."
"The idea there is text speak," the Rev. Davis said, "and how you would write it on a cell phone." The message behind that theme is, "We have been blessed in order to be a blessing," he said.
"It's great to see the looks on other people's faces after a job well done," Mr. McClure said. "You just have the feeling of not only accomplishment but you know you've made a difference in someone else's life."
"You get back far more then you give," Mrs. Reynolds said.
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