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By Gary Bennett
IF JUST a cup of cold water given in Jesus’ name
goes a long ways in God’s economy, just think what 400 turkey
dinners, 116 food hampers, dozens of toys for the kids and a few assorted
door prizes could do.
That’s what the people of the churches from the
communities of Vic West, Esquimalt and View Royal found out on Saturday
afternoon, January 10, as 250 people sat down for a full-course turkey
dinner in the Esquimalt Legion Hall for this winter’s ‘Love
Your City’ event.
Organizers estimate that an additional 150 people
(including volunteers) also enjoyed the meal on the outskirts of the hall.
The afternoon gathering was the latest in an ongoing
series of community outreach events organized by the members of the
Esquimalt Ministerial Association.
Over the course of weeks leading up to the event,
coordinator Rev. Jerri Moore watched with amazement as a collection of
people from a wide variety of churches morphed into a corps of enthusiastic
volunteers, clad in identical heart-emblazoned Love Your City t-shirts.
“Initially,” Moore told BCCN, “it was not a smooth road to
get all the people from the various churches excited about this event, but
then Jesus began to pry open our hearts.”
In the end, the event drew a solid representation from
churches and ministries such as Victoria Harvest, Esquimalt Nazarene,
Harbourview Alliance, Salvation Army’s High Point Community,
St. Paul’s Anglican, St. George’s Ukrainian Orthodox, YWAM and
Xtreme Outreach.
They teamed up to create an atmosphere which Moore
described as “such a feel of family.” The goal, Moore stated,
was “to just be the church loving people.”
Pastor Barry Goodwin, who hosted the event, agreed that
this shared focus on meeting people’s needs “really brought the
churches together.”
As the people from the community filed into the hall,
each person was given an opportunity to simultaneously register for a door
prize and to fill out a follow-up form indicating interest in a number of
programs being offered by the community churches.
Ministries were presented, ranging from marriage
enrichment courses, to introductory level classes on the Christian faith,
to specialized youth and children’s programming.
One church even offered to make ‘House
Calls,’ stating:
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“You put a group of people together who want
directions on such things as family issues, marriage, Christianity [and]
addictions – and we will come to you. All topics are addressed from a
biblical point of view.”
Graham Jackson, another one of the organizers, compiled
a follow-up list from the 57 response sheets that came in. Jackson reported
that at least some interest from the community was indicated in all 10 of
the various categories of programs being offered by the churches –
and noted that “three individuals even signed up for house
calls!”
The organizers all agreed that the hand of God was on
this event, as they watched him bring out of the chaos and angst of
last-minute preparations an atmosphere of blessing, peace, conversation and
community.
During the set-up and throughout the event, volunteers
were praying. That made the difference, the participants believe.
As Jerri Moore said, “There was something that
happened in that moment of chaos, as Barry prayed. Suddenly there was
a joy in the line-up.”
The atmosphere of blessing and peace was enhanced by
the live instrumental worship music provided by Tom Saunders on the guitar
and Raina Saunders on the violin, and by jazz vocalist Maureen Washington.
This was not the first Love Your City extravaganza
planned by the Esquimalt Ministerial. They’ve been coordinating
similar outreach events for three-and-a-half years. And it certainly
won’t be the last such event for this group.
Something has been galvanized in the hearts of the
pastors and ministry leaders of this community. Together they meet
weekly for prayer and fellowship, seeking God’s creative guidance in
finding ways to say to the community:
“We love you, and Jesus loves you!”
February 2009
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