issue 13
OASIS
Older Adults Sharing in Service
April/ May 2015
ENCORE: AGE HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH SERVICE
by Mike Looney
SENIOR MINISTRY NEWS
Calvary Food Drive
Each week the Yellow House
team, led by Lynnell Bok, serves
those within our church community who are experiencing
personal difficulties & hardships
that cause financial stress. One
of the services provided is our
Food Pantry. On April 26th,
trucks will be located in the upper and lower parking lots to
collect donations to restock the
Food Pantry. Donation items
needed include, non-perishable
food items, paper products, personal care products and cleaning supplies. Donation bags will
be handed out on April 12 and
April 19.
Help Needed
Community Groups, families
and individuals are need to help
with the Annual Food Drive
on April 26. Starting around
12:30pm, we need help unloading trucks, sorting donations
and restocking the shelves in
the food pantry. Lunch will
be provided. Contact Lynnell
([email protected]) at ext. 3510
to sign up.
Calvary Church
707 E Beltline NE
Grand Rapids MI 49525
calvarygr.org | (616) 956-9377
“The privilege of volunteer leadership in the Church is the call to share in the preparation of congregations and the whole Church for the mission of God in the world.” Billy Graham
While many churches across America report a decline in the number of people serving as
ministry volunteers, volunteerism at Calvary remains strong. Researchers have been studying the reasons people volunteer for many years and three general themes have appeared
throughout the research:
1. The volunteer opportunity matches their personal values. These are the people who say
it matches their humanitarian or faith needs to help others; they enjoy helping others; it
fulfills their personal values, convictions, and beliefs.
2. They seek personal development. Perhaps it’s to challenge themselves by dealing with
an emotionally difficult topic, or to understand more about their strength or weakness, to
learn new skills… these people hope to grow spiritually or personally from their volunteer
experience.
3. They are concerned about their world or community. These people consider themselves
an advocate for a cause or project because they want to impact the people in their church
community or around the world. It’s their passion.
Volunteer Opportunities at Calvary
Our church community is preparing for the next phase of Grace Beyond. During the
building phase, we worship at Calvin College. There we will need greeters, parking lot
attendants, nursery workers, setup and teardown team members and more! In addtion,
our Shut-In Ministry Team is looking for volunteers who are willing make a visit once a
month to those unable to attend Calvary services. Interested in other cultures? Neighbors International, Calvary’s ministry to international college students, is looking for folks
to welcome and befriend international college students as they adjust to their new lives
in the United States.
We can all be volunteering, no matter what your exact reason or motivation, God expects
us to use our gifts and talents to encourage and advance His kingdom!
“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved
yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel
of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers
for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.”
2 Corinthians 9:12-14
For more information about serving opportunities, contact Stacy Armbrester (sarmbrester@
calvarygr.org) ext. 5095. For Pastoral Care Ministry volunteer opportunities, contact Regina
([email protected]) ext. 3672.