Disciple: A Day of Service
St. Margaret's, Waxhaw, deepens relationships in and outside the church
By Christine McTaggart
When a congregation approaches its leadership and requests more opportunity to engage with its community, it’s hard to say no. But St. Margaret’s, Waxhaw, found itself in such a situation at the start of 2016. For years, the congregation has had a culture of outreach and mission, but its members clearly wanted more, asking specifically for more hands-on service opportunities and the chance to deepen the relationship between the church and its surrounding community.
BUILDING ON A STRONG FOUNDATION
Traci Scott and Penny Feldser are the co-coordinators for outreach and missions at St. Margaret’s. Both women had been involved in congregational outreach programs for years, and at the start of 2016 they were asked to serve in a leadership capacity to continue the church’s culture of outreach.
When sitting down to plan for the year, Feldser found herself reflecting on the example set by other area churches, in which they served not one or two local organizations, but several at a time. What if St. Margaret’s could do the same? What if they could broaden their outreach by creating more opportunity to serve the various ages, interests and abilities represented by St. Margaret’s congregation? Could the variety serve both to increase the church’s contributions to its local community and ultimately serve as a connection point for participants?
They decided to find out with the church’s first-ever day of service.
CONNECTION THROUGH VARIETY
The idea behind the day of service was to provide opportunities across a spectrum of causes and offer enough choices so that anyone who wanted to participate could, regardless of age, interest, physical ability or skill level.
Scott and Feldser first approached organizations with which the church already had an established relationship, whether that relationship was in the form of donor-to-recipient or one with which St. Margaret’s had worked on previous volunteer activities. The idea was to start with the familiar and deepen the relationships between the organization and parishioners by giving participants a chance to “see behind the donation” and engage in hands-on experience.
Eight organizations in the Charlotte area were selected: Union County Community Shelter, Loaves & Fishes of Union County, The Closet Ministry, Second Chance Monroe Boutique & Home Décor Stores, Waltonwood, Brookdale South Charlotte and St. Margaret’s itself. Between them, projects ranged from providing fellowship to wood working to sorting materials to moving furniture to gardening and more. The wide variety of the projects provided age-appropriate opportunities for even the 5-and-under crew of volunteers.
More than 75 parishioners participated in the day, with ages ranging from four years of age to 70-plus years old.
“It was a truly intergenerational day,” said the Rev. Suzanne Bruno, deacon at St. Margaret’s. “It was wonderful. [To have that as the] representation for our very first service day in a very active month of the year – May – when there are so many activities going on with children and finishing up the [school] year plus graduations and marriages and what have you, was incredible.”
A SPECIAL TOUCH
Scott and Feldser put a special touch on the day with a pizza lunch at St. Margaret’s for all volunteers. More than 50 of the participants accepted the invitation and returned to the church when their work was done to enjoy some congregational fellowship and bond over the experiences of the morning.
“People came back and sat around the tables, sharing their stories and this wonderful spirit of having been blessed from being out in the community blessing others,” said Bruno. “That, to me, was a very special moment and a very strong validation of how meaningful the day had been.”
The effects of the day lasted long after lunch. Said Feldser, “People served together that don’t normally cross paths at church. I know I built relationships with people I wouldn’t have otherwise, and [parishioners] now have more relationships within the church. They see people and feel like they’re coming closer together with people they might not otherwise have known.”
Scott also highlighted how the volunteer opportunities allowed organizers to “get to know [parishioners’] talents in a different way,” as musical, artistic and a variety of other skills were revealed as folks answered the call to service.
Perhaps best of all, the day didn’t end when volunteers gathered for the post-service lunch. “We’ve seen people extend what they did that day and keep working on their own and getting really passionate about things,” said Feldser. “ I think [the day of service] helped introduce people to more opportunities of needs within the community.”
With the day of service an unquestioned success, the plan moving forward is simple: do it again, and make it bigger and better.
St. Margaret’s has a strong history with the local chapter of Stop Hunger Now, doing events with them twice a year. Those will continue, but now days of service will complement them on the calendar to offer outreach opportunities once a quarter.
“Now that people know what it’s all about,” said Scott, “they can spread the word.”
CAST THE NET WIDE
Offering a day of service is something every church can do. Scott and Feldser shared advice gleaned from their experience for anyone looking to get started with a similar program:
- Start early and cast the net wide. “Even though there is no shortage of organizations that need help,” said Feldser, “it’s hard logistically and tactically to solidify specific projects on a specific date in a specific time range that appeal to all the different demographics and interests.”
- Deepen established relationships. By starting with organizations with which your church already has a relationship, it’s a wonderful opportunity for that relationship to go deeper.
- Have enough opportunities for everyone who wants to participate.
- Make sure the opportunities are appropriate to the ages, interests and abilities of those you are inviting to participate.
- Have backup plans in place in case more (or fewer) people sign up than expected to ensure all commitments to the organizations are fulfilled (and don’t commit more than you think you can fulfill).
- Incorporate a way to come back together as a congregation at the end of the day to bond over stories and experiences.
- Be flexible!
Bruno summed up the experience: “[Folks] might write a check or bring canned goods to the church on the first of the month. They’ve heard about these places and they’ve donated items or money, but the beauty of the day of service was to put flesh or building to these. People went out to these facilities and did some of the hands-on work. And so now when some of these organizations are mentioned, people can visualize them more, and it becomes personal.”
In one day, the congregation of St. Margaret’s modeled how the chance for outreach relationships exists for us all, whether in the form of establishing a new one or going deeper with a cause long supported, or by developing relationships with each other as we work together.
Christine McTaggart is the communications director for the Diocese of North Carolina.
Tags: North Carolina Disciple
