Great Day of Service 2007!
Print ViewOur Great Day of Service 2007 is fastly approaching! March 24th is only 32 days away and counting down!!! I am so excited about all the agencies we are going to serve again this year. It is so rewarding to contact some of our "annual visit" agencies and hear their excitement when we say we want to serve then again. Our church is so well thought of - both in the hard work we bring to our projects and the joy of Christ that shines through us! At last count, we had over 30 agencies that we will be serving in our community!
I have a wonderful team working diligently behind the scenes to insure that this year's GDOS is a huge success. Lucy, Panda, Donna, Darla, Tami - I love you guys! Whoever said that "Rome wasn't built in a day" didn't have this crew working for them!
Registration forms go out this weekend, and I know you will find a place to serve. Our theme "Touch and Be Touched" is so appropriate. I always feel that our GDOS day is one in which our church is absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, a day where we are doing exactly what God has called us to do. Please don't miss out on serving with us on March 24th. Whether as a volunteer, project captain, or prayer partner...Touch and Be Touched!
Love in His Name,
From Lori Cotter's March 21, 2007 "SUMC - SK Update"
"Our little BLASt missionaries have also been building a wall of cereal for the North Gwinnett Food Co-op. To date they have brought in 127 boxes of cereal to go on the empty shelves at the co-op. We have challenged them to build that wall to 150 boxes. Can we do it? You bet we can!!! Don't forget to bring those boxes in this Sunday so we can celebrate how together as the Body of Christ we can do great things!"
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Photo from our day at Interfaith Outreach...
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Photo of the PB & J Drive by the SUMC Pre-school...
A Great Day of Service is a Sugarloaf tradition!!!! This is our 5th year of going “Beyond the Walls” on a Saturday in March. It’s the one day a year when we as a congregation serve the organizations in our local community that take care of our young, old, homeless, sick and in need. We will do what the paid staff and volunteers of these agencies won’t, can’t or don’t have time to do! We landscape, clean, sort, cook, organize, paint, pamper, talk and listen. We are the hands and feet of Christ no matter where we are or what we are doing! Please get involved in this day. Complete a registration form or register on line at www.sugarloaf.org by Sunday, March 10. (Don’t forget to register for your t-shirt and the dinner the night before!!) A Great Day of Service is fun, hard work, fun, fulfilling, fun, challenging……and did we mention FUN????? Touch and Be Touched, Saturday, March 24. It’s a tradition you’ll want be a part of!
Posted by Tami McLaughlin — Mar 07, 2007 10:40
I went to the Women's Spa Party at My Sister's House in Atlanta. It was a blast and I was so touched by the ladies there. It has been many years since I did makeup as my profession and doing it again brought back such wonderful memories of interacting with ladies as I helped them find thier inner beauty. Well on Saturday I had these ladies help me find my inner beauty and how the Holy Spirit had filled me. At times I found that someone else was guiding my color choices and every woman that I touched loved exactly what I did with them! Some got thier nails and hair done and when it was all finished, you could just see them glow! We even got serenaded to by 2 of th women, One brought tears to my eyes as she sang " The Battle Hymm of the Republic", and yes His Truth is marching on in these women!! I used to hate doing makeup on people, seemed so impersonal, but my thoughts and actions were so changed that I cannot wait to do it again and hopefully we will have more people help us, we do so need more people, we have so many women that we turn away it breaks our hearts!! I want to teach others how to apply the makeup and pick colors so that I can show others the joy that I found while performing my service. I truly felt like the Hands of God as I touched each face and brought the light back in the eyes of each lady! I LOVED IT!!! I truly thank God that I have this way to give back, I have been so blessed and I want to be able to give my all for others.
Posted by Christel Trulson — Mar 25, 2007 11:07
This comment is from an email Phil sent to the team that worked with him at Interfaith Outreach for GDOS... --------------------------------------------- Hi everyone, Just finished my shower....for which my wife was truly thankful....and thought I would drop each of you a quick note. For what it's worth I'm totally exhausted, sore from head to toe, cramping in places I've never cramped before, sunburn, can barely move....and yet I haven't felt this good in years! Thank each of you for being so kind to let me join you in this worthwhile endeavor...tonight I feel blessed to have been part of such a great team! I'm proud to now know each of you. Bob made the comment to me that I probably could have picked an easier way to meet people in the church....he's correct....but I might have missed meeting you guys that way and that would have been a shame. God Bless and thank you, Phil
Posted by Paige — Mar 25, 2007 11:25
This comment is an excerpt from an email sent by Melanie about My Sister's House and GDOS --------------------------------------------- We had another big success at My Sister's House and I truly believe that every volunteer left feeling they had been blessed and touched. We had the exact/right number of everything we brought including the volunteers as God continually provides exactly what we need without any excess every I lead a project. As always the ladies at the shelter seemed to really enjoy being pampered and just couldn't thank us enough. In His Service, Melanie
Posted by Paige — Mar 25, 2007 11:37
What a blessing again this year to serve with such an awesome planning team and wonderful group of church members! I was moved and proud to see the video today of all of SUMC reaching out and touching so many lives in so many ways. It is a great day in so many ways.....it is great to meet church family members you have not known before (since we are so big now!), it is great working so hard as a team and setting that example for our children, it is great to see our church leaders out there supporting us all over town and most of all it is great to know you have put smiles on faces you may not have even seen on Sunday. THAT is truly the Holy Spirit working in us! We can't wait to do it again next time!
Posted by Lucy Faxon — Mar 25, 2007 14:02
Our job was to go out to 6 senior citizens homes within the community and perform various tasks, like yard cleanup, cleaning gutters, fix leaks, cut a few trees, clean house, shampoo carpets, replace kitchen faucet, put up hand rails, couple electrical problems, trim hedges, and put down mulch and boy did we put down mulch! Anyway I was so proud of my group they were such a blessing to me and to the clients. We spent some time talking with the clients getting to know them and sometimes the most important is just listening. But the most moving experience this day was one of our client’s husband was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer, after we finished the work at their house we all gathered in their small living room and laid hands and prayed for him. It was very moving and you could definitely feel the Holy Spirit come in meet us just where we needed him! Another client had a brother that was not expecting to make it for many more days, he is in the hospital and when he goes she will e the last one left in the family. We all come together as a group outside her home, put our hands on her and prayed for her and her brother. During the chain prayer the client prayed for us this was very touching and moving. WHAT AN INCREDIDABLE DAY!!!!!!
Posted by Sonny Bettis — Mar 25, 2007 15:04
We went to Breakthru House in Decatur.This agency serves women who have had alcohol editions. The agency was established in 1929 by Methodist ministers. All of the members in our group were touched by the number of houses (5)that serve this agency. We did several yard tasks (planting flowers, mowing grass and mulching a pathway which connects all the houses.We were glad to be of service to this agency who"s directors showed great appreciation for our work. We were blessed to do our work for them.
Posted by Steve Beckmann — Mar 25, 2007 17:04
What a wonderful day of service I experienced! I was fortunate and so blessed to be a servant at the Wellspring Living home in Duluth. I did not get dirty, I am not sore the day after, there was no sweat and I used no power tools. When I saw the gorgeous results of the landscape crew and how hard they were working, I felt guilt for having nothing to show or tell my brothers and sisters back at SUMC as results for my day of service. But as my day progressed, I realized God had a different plan for me this year. He wanted me to use my heart as my power tool. He wanted me to be His hands and feet in a different kind of way. I was to "hang out" and share and listen. I was to sit and eat and let these precious women know how much God loves them. I was to laugh with them as we watched a movie and ate popcorn together. I was to open my heart and share my own experiences that reveal that life is a journey and God is still on this journey with them even though at times they feel all alone. I also cried with them as they opened their hearts and told us about where they have been and where they hope to go. They revealed God to us. Once again, the Holy Spirit was at work where you least expect to see His power. Thanks for a beautiful day. In His Name, Debbie
Posted by Debbie Tufts — Mar 25, 2007 21:28
What a privledge and blessing it is each year for me to serve our Lord at "A Great Day of Service". Each time I serve I feel that I am the one that has received the blessing! I believe God has used this service project to grow my faith because it is too big for me personally to handle. This was my 5th year as captain of My Sister's House Homeless and Recovery Shelter. This year we served about 125 women and teenage girls that we pampered with manicures, makeovers and haircuts all while showing a "chick flick". We gave each lady a gift of cosmetics and a handbag or cosmetic bag all that were donated. Twice each year I am involved in organizing parties for this agency. God provides exactly, without excess what we need in the way of volunteers and donations each time. I am blessed by the volunteer's sweet spirits and awesome talents and by all the heartfelt thank yous we receive of those we serve. Some of these women haven't had their haircut in years or ever had a manicure in their entire life. They are so blown away by what we do that many of them just beam with joy, you can just see their sense of self worth rise immediately. I always come away with a list of names, their stories as their faces are etched in my mind, I promise to pray for them. As I was applying makeup on one lady named Sharon, she told me this is her last hope because she has been on crack for 14 years and she almost died of an overdose this time. She said, "I have to recover or I will die." As I hugged her I whispered in her ear, "God can heal you...I know He can, please put your faith in Him." Later in my quite time I thought about the words I spoke to Sharon and I know I may not have spoken them had I not had to put my faith in God through things like "A Great Day of Service" in my own life. How awesome He is when He shows things like this!
Posted by Melanie Peterson — Mar 26, 2007 10:01
I am really enjoying reading everyone's experiences from GDOS. I have emailed the blog address to some of our agencies so hopefully they will join the blog too! Sarah
Posted by Sarah Hove — Mar 27, 2007 10:23
Dear GDOS Participants, We at Interfaith Outreach Home are so grateful for the effort each of you put forth on Saturday. Since 1992, IOH has been home to 185 homeless families. It is powerful for our families to see and know that strangers are willing to give so much to their recovery efforts. Every time the families walk to the door, they are able to enjoy the fruits of your labor in the beautiful flower beds and improved landscape. God will forever favor SUMC because you care for "the least of these." Deborah Walker-Little Director of Family Services @ IOH
Posted by Deborah Walker-Little — Mar 27, 2007 10:39
I have been to My Sister`s house before, but there were special unexpected blessings from the trip there on this GDOS experience. As I stopped to visit with a young, fairly large young woman who was cleaning the ladies rest room, I realized how weary she was and I noticed her face was full or perspiration. I did something I ordinarily would never do to anyone for fear of embarrassing them...I reached in my purse to get several kleenex and touched her face several times until it was dry. We then hugged as she thanked me . That was our first embrace but several more follwed throughout the time we were there. As I thought about this later, wondering why I would do such a thing, I knew God had directed this action in order for the two of us to bond...and to bond in His love. I don`t know when I have had so many hugs in such a few hours, but I know my new friends and I were blessed as only He can bless. I want to stay connected to these precious women!
Posted by Dot Blew — Mar 27, 2007 13:28
Making a difference – that’s what Great Day of Service is all about for me and I’m sure all the volunteers. Our food drive for the North Gwinnett Co-op was an amazing success. It was so gratifying to know that we were helping to provide food to those in need. I am so touched by the efforts of the kids in BLAST who collected over 150 cereal boxes and the kids in our pre-school who filled an entire barrel with PB & J. Thank you Lori Cotter, Brandon Rushin and Michelle Todd for your leadership in this cereal and PB & J drive. I would like to give a shout out of thanks to the volunteers that came to the North Gwinnett Co-op for GDS (Kelli Haugen and son Clayton, Stephanie Phillips, Joy, Grady, Savana, MacKenzie and Taylor Grace York, Mike Flanagan and Molly Flanagan). Job well done! We took on the enormous task of packing up the winter clothes and getting the thrift shop ready for the spring/summer clothing. Thank you Mike and Grady for making numerous trips to the local Goodwill. When we left it felt wonderful knowing we had completed our task and that was one more project the director could cross of her list. There is no greater way to get to know our brothers and sisters in Christ than to work side by side making a difference in people’s lives. I look forward to Great Day of Service 2008.
Posted by Bonnie Flanagan — Mar 27, 2007 14:30
Redemption Community Church: We had a wonderful day and got lots done in 11 different areas. People from 4 churches and from the neighborhood all working together in community! We put a fresh coat of paint in the sanctuary and hall, created more parking (for our impending growth!), repaired water damage, sorted clothes for the Homeless ministry, and much more. SUMC has been a key supporter for a long time and this day was just another example. Thanks!
Posted by Johan — Mar 28, 2007 09:51
Our group went to the Foster Children's Foundation in Duluth. We worked their Open House that is offered monthly for foster parents to obtain supplies and clothing. I stood in awe of these families as they came in--one had 6 foster children they were caring for. What a blessing these parents are to these lost children. One family had 4 children just so they could keep the siblings together. I was so proud of our volunteers. We replenished and organized the shelves and helped the parents pick out items based on their specific needs. I was most proud of our children volunteers. They took the littlest foster children and played with them, gave them bottles, changed diapers--whatever was needed so the parents could shop in peace! The most amazing thing was seeing a foster child's face light up just to get a new stuffed animal! We all take so much of what we have for granted. It was a strong reminder to me that the material things are not what it is about. I was especially proud of my 10 year old daughter who came home and started going through her things so that she could go back and give some of her clothes and toys to the Foster Children's Foundation! It was a wonderful day of feeling His presence and blessings! Thank you to all those behind the scenes who not only made this day possible but also ensured it ran smoothly! Everything was perfect!
Posted by Karen Gipson — Mar 29, 2007 05:34
What a great day! This was the day the Lord made and I do believe He would be proud of what SUMC did! Our small but strong team of 6 served at the Partnership Against Domestic Violence. Our job was to organize two outdoor sheds that contained toiletries, womens & childrens clothing, toys, and small household items for women about to move into their own place. What amazed me is we sometimes take our "stuff" for granted and yet what many would consider as unusable" these women looked at as a real treasure - they had nothing! Because of the nature of the shelter and the confidentiality required we had little opportunity to talk with the clients though some did. There was an ugly reminder of the seriousness of domestic violence when the EMTs and police showed up. I am so proud to have served with some other wonderful people. A big thanks to Angie, Ginger, Juil, Tony, and my wife Janet! You rocked! Oh yes, we also got to enjoy some fine cuisine from the Varsity!!!
Posted by Gary Derbridge — Mar 29, 2007 06:02
Thank you to everyone involved in the planning of the GDOS. The communication and coordination of this large event was fabulous. My son Clayton(7) and I served at the North-Gwinnett Co-Op and we really enjoyed the feeling of helping. We are going to try to serve at the Co-Op once a month to continue to serve. Thank you to Bonnie who was a truly awesome leader! We really felt God's hand in this experience.
Posted by Kelli Haugen — Mar 29, 2007 06:16
"A Great Day of Service"...there are no better words for what I experienced this past Saturday!I just wanted to thank everyone from the Sugarloaf United Methodist Church again for coming out to the Special Needs Schools of Gwinnett in Lawrenceville. We had a huge painting party and really freshened the place up! It's been very rewarding emailing Sarah Hove and talking and working with Richard Gomrick, his family, and all the others that have been involved with us for 2 years now. Last year, SUMC planted over 65 leyland cypress trees around our then newly built retention pond at our new and final home. So I'd also like to take this opportunity and forum to thank them for their hard work last year as well. A little background on why I'm involved: My 15 year old Daughter, Ashley, has down syndrome and has been attending this school since she was 18 months old. She is my heart and my reason why I do so much for this school. Over the years, we have had many people help with various projects in and around the school but I can't remember a group of people that I have enjoyed working with more! Richard, your church should be very proud to have you as well as the others that I met on Saturday as representatives of it's body. What a great place it must be! Thanks again for your time, effort, and keeping our school in your thoughts and prayers!
Posted by Jim Anderson — Mar 29, 2007 13:06
GCOS Spa Party for Foster Children - My project assignment for the Great Day of Service was to provide a “Spa Day Party” for approximately 12 young tweens in foster care. I met with the agency director the week before to determine what we could do to be a blessing and encouragement to their girls. I was in anticipation of the big day: hours of planning done, prayers offered, coupons clipped/supplies purchased and volunteers con- firmed!! 36 hours prior to the GDOS we receive an email from the agency: only 4 girls will be able come. My heart sank as my mind raced over the money already spent, the heart and soul I had put into giving my best effort---as well as the 12 volunteers in place to serve. Discouragement replaced my earlier joy and I questioned the success of what had been planned. God’s gentle voice grounded my thoughts: Is it not worth everything if just ONE single heart can be touched for Christ? As I began to think on this truth, example after example rose up in my spirit: He knows when ONE sparrow falls to the ground… He is the good Shepard who wouldn’t return until the ONE missing was found… He was willing to die that not ONE would perish.. Whoever welcomes ONE child in my name, welcomes me… I was truly humbled (touch and be touched!). My joy was instantly restored. This small offering of time and resources was nothing in light of what He gave so I (ONE) would live and know him. I didn’t have to worry about how many we serve—I only had to be faithful to serve the ONE God entrusted to our care. We served five special young ladies that Saturday morning. To God’s glory, He entrusted us with an extra ONE we didn’t expect!! We are blessed to be a blessing. In Christ, Lee Anne
Posted by Lee Anne Mimbs — Apr 01, 2007 13:48
This comment is from an email Gary Galloway sent to the team that worked at Gwinnett County Senior Services for GDOS... --------------------------------------------- Sarah, How can I adequately show our appreciation for the tremendous efforts of your Sugarloaf UMC volunteers. Your members again outdid themselves for the '07 Great Day of Service. I just finished mentioning to Sonny that words somehow are not enough for what your people manage to do. I am highlighting (in our volunteer newsletter) the efforts of your group as well as several other UMC's who have really stepped up this spring to collectively make a huge difference in the lives of people who have regrettably gotten to the point where they have difficulty helping themselves. The senior population with needs numbers continue to swell - I can feel myself getting older on a daily basis (even though I'm not yet a senior) - and the challenges seem to get ever-greater. Please let me know if there is a special way to thank Sugarloaf UMC for the bountiful and heartfelt generosity and love for our vulnerable seniors. I have spoken to congregations in the past, and would be willing to voice our collective gratitude in any form deemed appropriate. Respectfully, Gary Galloway Volunteer Services Coordinator Gwinnett County Senior Services
Posted by Paige for Gary Galloway — Apr 10, 2007 10:16