One of the things we say around here is that Grace Community Church doesn’t exist for ourselves. We exist for the good of our neighbors and one of the ways we put that into practice is through our partnership with Greene Alliance.

Greene Alliance is an organization that brings together churches and other civic groups in Greene County to serve our neighbors in need. One of the ways Greene Alliance does that is by providing packages of household goods to families who need them and we’ve been joining with them by collecting a specific item for those packages each month.

Our collection has been on hold since March because we hadn’t been worshipping together in the building. But, as you can probably imagine, the needs go on! We still have people in our neighborhoods who need the assistance that these packages provide. So, we’re resuming our collection starting in August to assist Greene Alliance in loving our community.

We’re doing it a little bit differently this time around. Instead of identifying one item per month, we’re collecting everything on this list for the entire month of August. If you’re out running some errands, consider grabbing a few extra items.

Dish soap
Laundry detergent
Pull-ups, size 4t-5t
Shampoo
Clorox cleaning spray
Toothbrushes

Once you’ve picked up your items, there are two ways you can drop them off for the collection.

1. Bring them to service with you – If you’re coming to in-person services, just bring them with you. We will have the basket in the foyer like we have in the past. Drop your items off in the basket and we’ll make sure they get delivered.

2. Drop them off whenever you’re out – Some of you have decided it’s still too soon for you to return to in-person services. What does this mean for you? If you’re streaming services online but want to participate in this collection, you can drop your items off any time you want. We will have the basket outside beside the front door around the clock. Come by anytime!

All this physical distancing has made it easy to get trapped in our own bubble, thinking only about ourselves and what’s going on in our own households. That’s what makes service so important! We weren’t made to live for ourselves, but to give our lives in the service of others. After all, that’s what Jesus has done for us!