I am excited to share with you about something that is happening right here at Central. As it actually gets underway, we want to be sure all our members and friends know what’s happening and how you can support what I consider to be a fabulous ministry.

Several months ago Bill Page emailed me asking had I heard about Kids’ Food Basket and them wanting to begin a satellite program in Muskegon? I did a little investigation and quickly learned that God was answering a prayer prayed by the Vision Team over a year ago! Never doubt the power of prayer, and never give up in praying it! We had been looking for a way to serve our immediate community, using our facility in a way that would bring people into our building, allowing the community to see that we are alive and active in making a difference in Muskegon.

Kids’ Food Basket is a non-profit organization that makes sack suppers for children who are going home from school with no promise of food in the house for supper. These sack suppers allow them to not have to go to bed hungry, and to get enough calories to grow strong and be able to learn in school. Central is donating the use of Abner Bennett Hall downstairs, the adjoining office (Carol’s old office) and our kitchen, for production of sack suppers for children at Martin Luther King Elementary School in Muskegon Heights. This is the beginning of something wonderful!

They can use your help as volunteers to come on a weekday at 12:30 – 1:30 to help assemble nearly 400 sacks, or to deliver the bins of sacks to the school. Kids’ Food Basket is their own organization and has their own resources, so to volunteer you must call Sarah at (616)235-4532 to sign up. Their program in GR serves nearly 5000 meals a day and has 11 schools on a waiting list! Our children need us here in Muskegon to make sure they have a chance to grow up healthy and strong too.

The other impact this ministry has upon us is it gives us the opportunity to offer hospitality to community members coming here to volunteer. For some it may be their only exposure to church – and the welcome we give conveys the welcome God offers to them. First impressions are critical, so I’m counting on everyone in our building during the week to offer grace and hospitality to all who enter here.

To learn more about other changes going on in the life of Central all are invited to stay after worship on May 6^th for a Congregational Meeting in Parish Hall. We will have a light lunch of pizza, chips, cookies and beverages, and talk about our vision for some recent changes and how we seek to be good stewards of the resources God is supplying us – whether that is our building or our finances.

Joy and peace to all,

Pastor Diane Gordon

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