Area church celebrates anniversary by giving back to community
January 14, 2021
Carl Oryall grilled chicken before participants arrived at the Jan. 9 Community Day celebration hosted by the Lifesong Methodist Church in Reeds Spring.
Cindy Hembree
Pastor Larry Mills is proud of his congregation and how they have chosen to celebrate their anniversary. Each year on the second Saturday in January, Lifesong Methodist Church in Reeds Spring spends the day giving back to the community, which was started 12 years ago by former pastor Rob Barringer. Each year, residents are alerted by social media, notifications in local businesses, and word of mouth. The church provides boxes of essential groceries and other supplies to people in the area. The groceries include fresh and frozen meats, flour and sugar, cereal, canned goods, and other staples.
With a cloud-filled sky and temperatures in the low 30s, on January 9, volunteers were out helping others. Outside, the men were directing traffic, grilling chickens, handing out frozen meat and loading firewood into vehicles. Volunteers from the Southern Stone County Fire District Auxiliary helped in an outside booth that offered new and slightly used coats, hats, shoes, and gloves. Inside the church, ladies worked tirelessly to assemble boxes of bathroom tissue, laundry detergent, diapers, and baby wipes, to name a few.
In previous years, recipients of the event were allowed to come into the church and select the items they needed. The event typically offers other services, such as manicures and haircuts; however, it had to be modified this year due to the pandemic. Participants pre-registered and received items through the church’s care window, except the firewood. “We miss the people not being able to come into the church,” said congregation member Andrea Romeiser, of Reeds Spring.
This year’s Community Day event allowed the church to serve 200 families. Donations for the event came from several entities, including monetary contributions from the congregation; chicken from Tyson Foods; turkeys from Butterball; hams from Harter House in Kimberling City; most of the grocery items from King Food Saver in Branson West; and all of the clothing needs from the fire department auxiliary.
“We were very blessed,” said the pastor. For the Lifesong Methodist church, despite the weather conditions, it was a very happy anniversary.
Pastor Larry Mills is proud of his congregation and how they have chosen to celebrate their anniversary. Each year on the second Saturday in January, Lifesong Methodist Church in Reeds Spring spends the day giving back to the community, which was started 12 years ago by former pastor Rob Barringer. Each year, residents are alerted by social media, notifications in local businesses, and word of mouth. The church provides boxes of essential groceries and other supplies to people in the area. The groceries include fresh and frozen meats, flour and sugar, cereal, canned goods, and other staples.
With a cloud-filled sky and temperatures in the low 30s, on January 9, volunteers were out helping others. Outside, the men were directing traffic, grilling chickens, handing out frozen meat and loading firewood into vehicles. Volunteers from the Southern Stone County Fire District Auxiliary helped in an outside booth that offered new and slightly used coats, hats, shoes, and gloves. Inside the church, ladies worked tirelessly to assemble boxes of bathroom tissue, laundry detergent, diapers, and baby wipes, to name a few.
In previous years, recipients of the event were allowed to come into the church and select the items they needed. The event typically offers other services, such as manicures and haircuts; however, it had to be modified this year due to the pandemic. Participants pre-registered and received items through the church’s care window, except the firewood. “We miss the people not being able to come into the church,” said congregation member Andrea Romeiser, of Reeds Spring.
This year’s Community Day event allowed the church to serve 200 families. Donations for the event came from several entities, including monetary contributions from the congregation; chicken from Tyson Foods; turkeys from Butterball; hams from Harter House in Kimberling City; most of the grocery items from King Food Saver in Branson West; and all of the clothing needs from the fire department auxiliary.
“We were very blessed,” said the pastor. For the Lifesong Methodist church, despite the weather conditions, it was a very happy anniversary.