NUMBERS and NAMES

We all need and have to do it – we let "numbers" enter into our lives. Businesses, schools, churches, and our own families have to operate and survive knowing the "numbers." It is how we pay the bills, know what supply and staff are needed to provide services in our society, how we determine who wins an athletic event, and how we know who is the "best" at something.

We also often ask "how many" as we do here at the church. How many were in our Bible Studies? How many served or were served in one of our many ministries? How many were in church or online at Sunday worship, or how many were at Wednesday Night Supper (how long ago those seem!)? It is one measure of what is happening at a church.

All of us striving to be the "church" know we have to go beyond "numbers." We need to get into relationships with those God has sent us to and them to us. Scripture tells us God knows our name (Isaiah 43:1). So, while we make use of those needed "numbers," may we never stop at just the "number."  May we continue to know, in all the ways we are able, those we serve and worship with. Thank you for joining with us at Blessings for Children and all the other ministries and opportunities where we share Christ; together, we worship alongside and serve not just faceless numbers but know those numbers represent Maria, Jessi, Michael, Anna, Brantley, Pablo, Natalie, Aaron, Bristol, and the countless names we all can add. Praise God we are not only a number but known!

If you would like to join us in helping our area’s children in need at Blessings for Children, here are some ways to consider:  
 

• Please pray for the ministry and all who participate. Be on the lookout for families you can refer to us for assistance.
• Consider donating items we distribute to the children: diapers (size 4, 5, and 6 in particular), pull-ups, wipes, school supplies, children sized t-shirts, socks and underwear, children’s toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and toilet paper. A complete list of items we distribute can be found at shalimar-umc.org/blessings-for-children. You can donate items by stopping by the #10 2nd Street house behind the church any Wednesdays from 11:30am - 3:30pm. Children’s bibles, bible stories, and activity books are always a joy to receive and distribute. Spanish language Bibles are always needed!
• A financial gift designated to Blessings for Children through the church allows us to replenish the needed items we distribute weekly.          

               
New volunteers are always welcome, with no regular commitment required.

For additional information
Mary Jane Robertson
Email: mjr53@cox.net
Visit: shalimar-umc.org/blessings-for-children
Phone: (850) 499-6173
Open every Wednesday 12 - 3:30 pm