PEACE in Action

Ordinary People.

Empowered by God.

Doing What Jesus Did.

Wherever They Are. 

These are the words members of Oak Ridge Baptist Church live by when they engage in the PEACE Plan—our church-wide commitment to Promote reconciliation, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation.  More than words, however, the PEACE Plan in Action is about showing the love of Jesus in tangible ways in and beyond our community.

PEACE in Action has been busy lately:  over the summer, one especially notable project was a completely member-led and organized remodeling project for Ms. Sharon, one of ORBC’s own whose name came up when member Danny Guzman turned to our church family with a goal: “I’m looking for someone who could use a real blessing.”  

Two different people approached Danny to direct him toward Ms. Sharon, of whom Danny said, “She is such an awesome lady, and her need was great.”

In the midst of a battle with Parkinson’s disease, preparing for upcoming brain surgeries, Ms. Sharon maintained a great outlook and was very at peace with her situation, according to Danny.  It was an honor for ORBCers to bless her—Bill Von Paris noted that a main goal of those who came out in July was to repair Ms. Sharon’s deck, but when the team arrived, Bill found that “it wasn’t fixable, and it wasn’t safe.”

The crew of volunteers quickly got to work:  Teenagers from the Ridge replaced the skirting on Ms. Sharon’s trailer.  Ladies from Oak Ridge, including Beth Richmond and Laura Ryan, loved on Ms. Sharon by spending time with her, keeping her company throughout the day.  The trailer was power-washed; new flowers were planted and mulching was completed; light fixtures were replaced.

And upon realizing the deck wasn’t fixable, Bill and Danny led an impressive construction project during which a new deck was built on the back of Ms. Sharon’s house.

This past weekend, Danny, Bill, and company took on yet another challenge:

On the third Saturday in November, a group of Oak Ridge volunteers built a handicap ramp for a fellow ORBC member named Mary.

When Mary’s daughter-in-law used her connect card to note that Ms. Mary had been unable to attend church recently (she is somewhat wheelchair-dependent, and did not have the ability to shell out three to five thousand dollars to have a ramp installed at her home), several church members decided to do something about it.

“We’re going to try to get this thing taken care of,” Bill Von Paris declared the week before the group got busy. 

Having built several houses over the years, Bill is a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.  Though he’s not a construction worker by trade, his expertise allows him to work with other volunteers to make projects as productive as possible.  He said that Saturday’s endeavor, in addition to the actual installation of the ramp, involved taking down part of a fence, moving a gate, and completing some landscaping to give the project a finished look.

"We had a bunch of people come out,"  Bill stated, pleased with the crew of seven volunteers, which included a member who chose to spend her birthday seeing the project through from start to finish.  This member and her husband learned about the opportunity at ORBC's Home Run Heroes Graduation party earlier in the week.  The couple wasted no time putting their faith into action after the celebration, which was held to honor ORBC members who've rounded all the bases (completed every class our church offers to help everyone take their next faith step).

"We were able to finish it completely," Bill said, noting that Ms. Mary "was very pleased with it.  We cleaned her yard up and got everything done."  Together, the volunteers had a very physical day, but they managed to get the entire project finished, so everyone who stayed until the end of the day was there to witness Ms. Mary's reaction. 

Pictured above:  Before and After.  Ms. Mary's new ramp.  Ms. Mary paid for the materials, but Oak Ridge volunteers gave up their Saturday to build her the ramp free of charge.


If you would like to be part PEACE in Action, you will have an opportunity at least once a month:  PEACE leaders make sure to offer an opportunity for service every third Saturday of the month.  Special skills are not needed, just an able body and a desire to be a blessing to someone else.

PEACE in Action hosts a variety of service projects—Some projects are construction oriented, some offer opportunities for visitations with those who desire company.  The scope of projects is expected to widen as more and more church family become involved.

To get involved in future PEACE projects, write “PEACE in Action” on your connect card, and Pastor Gary can connect you to upcoming opportunities.  You can also email Danny Guzman (redeemed0804@yahoo.com) for information about Third Saturday projects, and if you've not yet joined the ORBC Members Group on Facebook, go ahead and do so!  Projects are advertised regularly on this Facebook page.