HOPE ABOUNDS

Our priest, Lois, is in the process of interviewing and hiring a nursery care person for Sundays. It has been over a year since we lost our last one and did not replace her. There were no children. Well, children, but not infants and toddlers who needed nursery care during worship.

As is usually the case in organizations, that which is not used falls into unkempt disarray. Thus the state of the nursery is not up to Diocesan standards -- by a long shot. The call went out. We need a new crib and changing table, new mattresses, toy sorting and cleansing.

The nursery is a very important piece of hospitality. It needs to be the best that we can offer. Parents need to feel confident that they are leaving their children in a place of comfort and safety. I was eager to answer the call and asked if others would join me. Others will. People will donate their time to sort and clean and organize. People will donate curtains/shades for the windows, people will donate mattresses. AND when I was doing an evaluation of the necessary work to be done, I found that someone had donated a large, new chest/bench for storing toys.

I am overwhelmed with this response. Who would have thought that a call to clean and sort and bring the nursery up to safety standards would bring such a response. I am overjoyed. Hope abounds!

And this is what seems to be the beginning of some new energy that is surfacing at Grace. The Mission Congregation is bubbling with eagerness to begin doing some outreach. Maybe not on our own -- yet. And that is more than okay. There are other churches that need more helping hands than they have of their own right now. Helping with another denomination's Thanksgiving Dinner is a possibility. And yet another denomination needs help with their Soup Kitchen commitment. Hope Abounds! We're on our way!