ShareFest is Coming! June 23-25

Only three weeks til  ShareFest 2011.  The ShareFest Committee has been meeting for several months.  Our anticipation is building!  It's so much fun to see new churches get involved and to see our plans expanded upon and shaping up to be bigger and better than ever.  There are  lots of ways for you to get involved.  Here’s a behind the scenes look at ShareFest.

  June 5, 12, and 19th  (Sundays)  Capable men and women, driving pickups will drive through member church parking areas during each service, picking up donated items for the Free Sale from behind cars at 13 different area churches.  Those same days pickups will be made at some people's homes by prior appointment.  Everything collected -  furniture, appliances, clothing, toys and books -  – will be stored in donated semi-trailers located on the ShareFest Village site at Mulberry Elementary School.

 Prior to Wed. June 22, groceries will be purchased to feed over 400 volunteers and 500 expected ShareFest Village guests.  Some of the food will be purchased using gift cards donated from local business and some food has been donated. Beginning Wed. night through Saturday morning June 22-25, Food Service volunteers will prepare lunches for all of the project volunteers.  Peanut butter and jelly, bologna or ham, chips, cookies, water, juice boxes and napkins will be carefully planned for each project team according to projected numbers of volunteers, then packed into borrowed coolers that are labeled for the project by number so that leaders can grab the correct coolers and know with confidence they will have plenty for everyone to eat. All food prep takes place in Faith Church's kitchen to be distributed to Thursday/Friday teams from there and transported to the Village site on Saturday for Saturday teams.

 Thursday and Friday mornings (June 23-24)  at 8:15, there are sleepy teens and energized adults arriving at Faith Church to find out what projects have been designated for them.  Project leaders may know their project ahead of time, but everything is subject to change depending on weather and last minute projects.  The Th-Fri group is special because they are the first wave of ShareFest volunteers to go out into the community to make a real difference in the name of Christ. Leaders, drivers and lots of intergenerational volunteers meet in the MultiPurpose Room  for a devotional send off, some introductions and prayer and last minute project assignments. Note: minors need permission forms signed by parent or guardian.

On Saturday, June 25 at Mulberry Elementary School at 5950 Buckwheat Drive the excitement begins to peak at 7:30 to 8:00 am as project teams are put to work as soon as they arrive to help set up the many tents and canopies needed for The Village.  As new volunteers arrive they are assigned a project, they purchase tshirts if needed, and then are put to work with the others to set up the village.  All hands are on deck as all of the presorted Free Sale items need to be moved to the outside area in preparation for the Sale which begins later in the morning.  Men in trucks canvass area church buildings to borrow tables and chairs for the Village booths and hospitality area.

                The Village really begins to bustle as Hoxworth personnel arrive – excited about the goal of 70 pints donated through this year’s blood drive.  New this year will be the Health Fair area, where skilled people will take blood pressures and offer other medical services.    Hair dressers will donate their services with free haircuts.  Representatives from local charities will set up information at their booths and the Prayer Tent will get ready to offer spiritual resources to those in need.   Truckloads of coolers with project lunches inside will begin arriving – ready to go with teams to the project sites – all over the Milford-Miami Township area.  Finally as excitement builds, parking attendants will welcome guests and direct cars to area parking.

                At 10 am, the Village technically begins. Someone dedicates the entire day’s events to the Lord, then local pastors pray with project teams as they gather in groups.  From 10 until 4 – while projects are being completed off site, many residents are exploring all that  ShareFest Village has to offer.  Worship bands will be playing on the main stage.  Haircuts, prayer times, the health fair, the car wash, Kids Zone, Hospitality Tent and the blood drive will all be in full swing.  In the meantime, more crowds will be gathering as they await the signal that the Free Yard Sale will begin.  The yard sale is from 11-2, everything is free, there is help to carry “purchases” to vehicles.  The aroma of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill is wafting through the crowd, whetting everyone’s appetite for the free lunch provided by gracious donations from our sponsors.

                By 2:30 as the free sale ends, there are always some items left from the sale that need to be packed up to be donated to a local agency.  Project teams begin to report back in on all that they accomplished.  The Village officially closes at 4, but the Hoxworth nurses will stay until every blood donor has been accommodated.  All the booths, tents, canopies will be disassembled, tables and chairs returned to area churches and the whole area policed so that we leave it better than we found it.  There is always a hodgepodge of remainders – who will store the signs for next year?  Can you return these coolers to the proper owners?  Boy, I’m Beat!  Then everyone goes home to a well-deserved rest.

                Sunday, June 26  Everyone is invited to gather to celebrate what God has done again this year!  For information on how you can get involved visit www.milfordsharefest.org , or comment on this blog.           13 Milford area churches + a great big God = Something Amazing!  Come and see for yourself!

Stretching that dollar

Did you know?  Every time you shop at Kroger's - buying groceries, a take-out salad, a gallon of gas - if you use a special Kroger's gift card purchased through Operation Faithfulness - the military ministry at Faith receives 4% of your purchase!  What a bargain.  I was going to be spending that money anyway, and this way a portion of my purchases goes back to help send gift packages to our soldiers serving away from home!   It excites me every time I open an envelope in my church mailbox from Kroger's:  "Maybe this is the month we will receive another check!"  About every other month we accumulate enough purchases to receive a check - usually between $200-400.  That is money we don't have to ask the congregation for!  And it was used before Christmas to send multiple packages of home-baked cookies and gifts to our soldiers. It will be used again around the 4th of July to encourage our troops.  And again near 9/11.

These packages mean a lot to lonely soldiers often serving in desolate and dangerous parts of the world, and usually separated from loved ones and home for long stretches of time. We get heartfelt letters from them thanking us for these "gifts from home."  Usually our boxes benefit many of the other guys and gals in the unit of the recipient.

Spread the word!  Prices are going up, but there are ways that you can stretch that almighty dollar!

Critical Questions

Preparing for the end of life

A friend shared with me some important things to think about if you are called to the deathbed of a loved one.  Better yet would be to have these discussions with aging parents or friends long before that crisis time arrives.  Have you thought through the decisions below?

 1) Have you reviewed the meaning of the living will and final wishes regarding the end of life.

2) Do you want to be buried or cremated?  Have you purchased a burial plot?

2) Is there a certain funeral home that you would prefer to use for your funeral?

3) Do you want an open or close casket, a viewing or a funeral alone? 

3) Have you picked out a casket?

4) Which pastor or elder would you like to officiate at the service? Are there certain things you would like said to the grieving friends who will gather? You can choose now the Scripture passages and music for the service.  You can even leave a personal message for those left behind.

5) What would you like to wear for that final viewing?

7) You can choose the words for your memorial or tombstone.  You may even want to select and pay for the tombstone ahead of time.

8)  Have you written an obituary for yourself?  What picture would you like to include?

9) What are the names and contact information for people to be notified in case of your death?

10) What is the location of important papers and financial information.

 At my grandmother’s funeral over 20 years ago, I still remember the words she had left to be read by the pastor addressed to her family.  She wanted to be sure we knew how to have assurance that we would join her some day in heaven.  Those words left a lasting impact on me.  I have always intended to write out my own message.  Since none of us know the length of our days here on earth, probably I need to address some of the questions above soon – like this weekend!

It's Snowing

        Isn't it interesting how snow brings out the child in each of us?  Will I every outgrow that excitement about a potential "snow day"?  Today as I sit in my office and turn periodically to watch the snow madly piling up outside my window, I am continually distracted!  Really, it's not like I'm likely to go sledding!  So what is the big deal?
        Part of the fascination is the way the snow makes everything white and beautiful.  It covers up the ugliness of a winter lawn, it gives a new winter coat to each branch and each twig. 
        Complete.        Absolute.        Sound-absorbing.
        It reminds me of God's forgiveness that covers me, and how God provided the "cover" for Adam and Eve's nakedness in the garden.  It challenges me with how God makes me "whiter than snow" and I so quickly soil the landscape of my life with my pettiness and selfishness, but run to Him again, my Abba Father, to be covered and protected.  I seek the shelter of His arms like the squirrels, chipmunks and birds seek the shelter of the big evergreens on the back of the church property. 
         Oh Lord, protect me from the storms in my life.  Warm me with your love.  Keep me from slipping.  And thank you so much for providing the cover for my sins. May each snowstorm serve, like the rainbow, to remind me of You and how very much I need You in my life.