It's been over a month now, but Palm Sunday 2018 was a particularly memorable occasion on the Eastern Shore this year. Residents in and around Salisbury are still talking about that day, and for good reason.
After all, it's not often that any church decides to forego services in order to serve their community. But that's exactly what Oak Ridge Baptist Church did last month, on March 25th--825 ORBCers took to the streets in Salisbury and surrounding areas, serving in twenty-five various sites in five different cities. The faith-filled volunteers expressed their love for Jesus by showing real love to the people the church exists to serve, and that love took all sorts of forms. Projects ranged from nursing home visits to neighborhood clean-ups, from construction projects to food distributions, from volunteering in schools and a homeless shelter to a pregnancy center.
Dubbed "PEACE 1 Day," the huge service initiative was organized by Heather Smith, a member of ORBC who was challenged by Missions Pastor Gary McCabe to identify service sites and coordinate ORBC members into leadership positions for each of those projects. In Heather's words, "It was amazing, it was so great, it came together so quickly." She noted that in January, Pastor Gary came to her, asking, "Can you go and find twenty places for 800 people to serve? I just said, 'challenge accepted.'"
In addition to identifying all twenty-five service projects and matching them with church members who were willing to serve as site coordinators, Heather served alongside her family at one of the sites. Her husband Chris led the Main Street Pedestrian Tunnel clean-up, where Chris, Heather, and their twelve and fourteen year-old children were among the ORBC volunteers who partnered with Salisbury Mayor Day and a group of city employees to power wash the tunnel, clean up trash, lay mulch, and brighten the area with plants that ORBC purchased. Heather discussed how welcomed ORBCers felt by their city partners, and what a joy it was to serve alongside City of Salisbury employees.
Main Street Pedestrian Tunnel Clean-Up.
This was a sentiment echoed by other partnerships throughout the day. The Salisbury Zoo Facebook Page posted a status update featuring photos of volunteers raking leaves along with the statement, "Love having #oakridgebaptist out to help us on their #peace1day!!!" Discussing how many details fell into place in the short amount of time during which she secured all the volunteer projects and coordinators, Heather noted, "The Zoo was a really neat situation, the perfect arrangement--a need was there we never even knew about...It's amazing what God's able to do when you're just willing to serve."
Janet Batchelder, who oversaw visitations and crafting at the Wicomico Nursing Home, agrees. "I know they were really blessed," she said of the residents who spent time with about a dozen ORBC volunteers. Still, she adds, "I think the people that went on behalf of ORBC were even more blessed than the residents."
Many of the PEACE 1 Day projects also offer opportunities for continued service. Partnerships with both the Wicomico Nursing Home and Lakeside Assisted Living are ongoing. Janet spoke of the flexibility of opportunities available for future Wicomico Nursing Home volunteers, noting that those interested in visiting residents can go back and do so in a self-initiated fashion. Janet can be contacted at rbatch1@verizon.net for more information. To learn how you can volunteer at Lakeside Assisted Living, contact Dwayne Morgan at dmorgan232@yahoo.com.
Oak Ridge volunteers assisted residents in making Palm leaf crosses.
Jim Kaylor, the site leader for yet another PEACE 1 Day project, also spoke of how his event, a food bank distribution at the Stone Grove Community Center, serves as the beginning of many future service opportunities. "It was a great start of building relationships and providing assistance to the poor. That was our purpose," Jim said of the March 25th event, which featured 47 volunteers from Oak Ridge and six from the community. "We provided meals for 92 families," stated Jim. A separate project held at the same site featured a cookout for the Stone Grove Community, featuring games for children and even a visit from the Easter Bunny.
The Easter Bunny and his helper visited the children of Stone Grove, bringing them treats.
Future service opportunities at Stone Grove include continued food bank distribution events, game nights for children of single parents, and Financial Peace University offerings. For more information about how you can be involved, contact Jim at jim.kaylor@purdue.com.
Bill VonParis, who leads construction and clean-up projects comprised of ORBC members on the third Saturday of every month--and is always looking for new volunteers-- described the "sprucing up," he and his March 25th team completed for a local resident whose husband has suffered a stroke. He described cleaning up the residents' yard, including removing debris and downed branches from recent storms, repairing their fence, and even constructing a new set of front steps. Bill would love to hear from individuals volunteering in similar future projects--no experience is necessary. He can be reached at peaceplanbill@gmail.com.
Building steps. Bill needs volunteers each month for similar projects!
March 25th was an amazing day that truly showed the impact the church can have when believers are intentional and serious about showing the love of Christ to their community. However, we cannot and should not believe our duty is done. Please prayerfully consider how you can continue to be involved by emailing one of the contacts listed above. If you have any questions or are looking for additional service opportunities, email peace@orbc.net.
After all, it's not often that any church decides to forego services in order to serve their community. But that's exactly what Oak Ridge Baptist Church did last month, on March 25th--825 ORBCers took to the streets in Salisbury and surrounding areas, serving in twenty-five various sites in five different cities. The faith-filled volunteers expressed their love for Jesus by showing real love to the people the church exists to serve, and that love took all sorts of forms. Projects ranged from nursing home visits to neighborhood clean-ups, from construction projects to food distributions, from volunteering in schools and a homeless shelter to a pregnancy center.
Dubbed "PEACE 1 Day," the huge service initiative was organized by Heather Smith, a member of ORBC who was challenged by Missions Pastor Gary McCabe to identify service sites and coordinate ORBC members into leadership positions for each of those projects. In Heather's words, "It was amazing, it was so great, it came together so quickly." She noted that in January, Pastor Gary came to her, asking, "Can you go and find twenty places for 800 people to serve? I just said, 'challenge accepted.'"
In addition to identifying all twenty-five service projects and matching them with church members who were willing to serve as site coordinators, Heather served alongside her family at one of the sites. Her husband Chris led the Main Street Pedestrian Tunnel clean-up, where Chris, Heather, and their twelve and fourteen year-old children were among the ORBC volunteers who partnered with Salisbury Mayor Day and a group of city employees to power wash the tunnel, clean up trash, lay mulch, and brighten the area with plants that ORBC purchased. Heather discussed how welcomed ORBCers felt by their city partners, and what a joy it was to serve alongside City of Salisbury employees.
Main Street Pedestrian Tunnel Clean-Up.
This was a sentiment echoed by other partnerships throughout the day. The Salisbury Zoo Facebook Page posted a status update featuring photos of volunteers raking leaves along with the statement, "Love having #oakridgebaptist out to help us on their #peace1day!!!" Discussing how many details fell into place in the short amount of time during which she secured all the volunteer projects and coordinators, Heather noted, "The Zoo was a really neat situation, the perfect arrangement--a need was there we never even knew about...It's amazing what God's able to do when you're just willing to serve."
Janet Batchelder, who oversaw visitations and crafting at the Wicomico Nursing Home, agrees. "I know they were really blessed," she said of the residents who spent time with about a dozen ORBC volunteers. Still, she adds, "I think the people that went on behalf of ORBC were even more blessed than the residents."
Many of the PEACE 1 Day projects also offer opportunities for continued service. Partnerships with both the Wicomico Nursing Home and Lakeside Assisted Living are ongoing. Janet spoke of the flexibility of opportunities available for future Wicomico Nursing Home volunteers, noting that those interested in visiting residents can go back and do so in a self-initiated fashion. Janet can be contacted at rbatch1@verizon.net for more information. To learn how you can volunteer at Lakeside Assisted Living, contact Dwayne Morgan at dmorgan232@yahoo.com.
Oak Ridge volunteers assisted residents in making Palm leaf crosses.
Jim Kaylor, the site leader for yet another PEACE 1 Day project, also spoke of how his event, a food bank distribution at the Stone Grove Community Center, serves as the beginning of many future service opportunities. "It was a great start of building relationships and providing assistance to the poor. That was our purpose," Jim said of the March 25th event, which featured 47 volunteers from Oak Ridge and six from the community. "We provided meals for 92 families," stated Jim. A separate project held at the same site featured a cookout for the Stone Grove Community, featuring games for children and even a visit from the Easter Bunny.
The Easter Bunny and his helper visited the children of Stone Grove, bringing them treats.
Future service opportunities at Stone Grove include continued food bank distribution events, game nights for children of single parents, and Financial Peace University offerings. For more information about how you can be involved, contact Jim at jim.kaylor@purdue.com.
Bill VonParis, who leads construction and clean-up projects comprised of ORBC members on the third Saturday of every month--and is always looking for new volunteers-- described the "sprucing up," he and his March 25th team completed for a local resident whose husband has suffered a stroke. He described cleaning up the residents' yard, including removing debris and downed branches from recent storms, repairing their fence, and even constructing a new set of front steps. Bill would love to hear from individuals volunteering in similar future projects--no experience is necessary. He can be reached at peaceplanbill@gmail.com.
Building steps. Bill needs volunteers each month for similar projects!
March 25th was an amazing day that truly showed the impact the church can have when believers are intentional and serious about showing the love of Christ to their community. However, we cannot and should not believe our duty is done. Please prayerfully consider how you can continue to be involved by emailing one of the contacts listed above. If you have any questions or are looking for additional service opportunities, email peace@orbc.net.
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