Since then, the mission has grown exponentially and even hosts several themed nights throughout the year, the largest being their Annual Christmas Party at the December meal. As Kathleen and Rise explain, volunteers have grown to know and love each guest and look forward to visiting with them each month to share some desperately needed love: "It's addictive!"
The need in our surrounding community to feed the hungry is greater than ever, and many volunteers are needed to help each month's meal run smoothly. Whether you help with setting up or cleaning up (a big need!), greet guests at the door with a warm smile and friendly handshake, help prepare and serve dinner, or simply hang around to engage in fellowship with those visiting, your presence of just one to two hours a month will be a present to both the church and our community.
Volunteer
Whether it is making supper, serving supper, or just visiting with folks at the supper, your presence is a gift to our guests! Extra help is needed for the December meal when the Fellowship Hall is transformed for a Christmas Party where each guest receives a Christmas present, perhaps the only gift some will get. Donations of gift cards, gas cards, gently used wallets, jewelry, nice hand soaps and lotions, scarves and hats, etc. are collected throughout the year to be gifted.
Help our neighbors feel the holy welcome of Jesus when they visit First Church. Kathleen Morgan (336-202-0421) to sign up to help.
Monthly Community Meal
On the first Thursday of each month, FUMC opens its doors to the community around us to offer food and fellowship.
History of the Mission
It started with a call. Kathleen Morgan and Rise Kelley were already volunteers at Ward Street Community Resources and the Open Door shelter serving meals to their hungry neighbors in need, but after their Bible study group studied the book Change the World by Mike Slaughter, the call was loud and clear: there was a dire need in the community surrounding Christ UMC.
They set out on a journey to raise money to fund their new idea: a monthly meal, free and open to anyone in the community. But the meal was to be more than just a hot plate of food; it was an answer to Christ's commandment. This mission would not only feed the hungry, but it would open the doors of the church to neighbors in need, offering friendly faces, fellowship, and a warm, safe place to be for an hour each month. The guests would be recognized not as those in need, but simply as people of worth. With great excitement, the first Community Meal was held on September 6, 2012.