Servant weekend--gleaning and painting

I love to share what God is doing with us! Its so awesome to see ordinary people become ordinary saints simply by doing God's will and following the example of Jesus. Jesus calls us to a kind of obedience, but only as a response to His obedience to God, revealing God's mercy and love for sinners by dying on a cross for our forgiveness. He has rescued us, setting us free from the shackles of sin and death. And as a result, we are called to a new obedience by faith.

Six of us from Zion joined nearly one hundred others at Sycamore Spring orchard to glean apples for two hours on Saturday. It rained a little, but it was warm enough. We picked apples off the ground---red delicious. It's amazing how many good apples would go to waste had we not been welcomed there to glean. May our efforts bring fresh fruit to many hungry and homeless people in central PA. We had fun as usual. I don;t know how many bushels or pounds of apples we gleaned, but we guessed that each of us had filled between 10 and 15 half bushel bags.
Thanks to David and Janet Chalfant, Jeff and Joanna Neikirk, and Shelly Trupe!

On Sunday night, 6 teens, Jeff and I painted the future "Peter's Porch clothing store" downstairs. We spent two hours and finished the painting. Tonight some guys will come and work on mounting clothing racks on walls. All of this preparation is to launch a simple ministry to open the church to the community. We will serve breakfast and give away stuff. Any stuff---clothes, blankets, household items...we want to be the church in action, serving and blessing our neighbors. I hope to offer a time of healing prayer for anyone who seeks it, too. I am so excited about November 22 and the launch of Peter's Porch. For this ocngregation, a seminal moment in walking the way of Jesus!

By the way, two weeks ago about 10 of us, including my two boys, walked the three mile CROP walk. I don't know how mucgh we raised locally for hunger, but we visibly expressed our Christian witness to walk with those who walk for food and water and shelter. May we find ways to join them, meet them, beffriend them, share with them, and in a sense become them in the servant love of Jesus.

Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of people to increase the love of God and the gracious justice of His Kingdom on earth.