By Pastor Deborah Kellar*

More than 70 people filled the yard of Christ United Methodist Church (South Forest District) in East Springfield for the church’s first community block party. The congregation of 25 people reached out to our neighbors to be a more caring community church. Instead of holding our annual church picnic at Elkhorn Christian Camp we decided to hold the event on our church lawn and invite our community to join us.

This project started in the fall of 2024 when the congregation went outside of our building during worship and circled the church. We laid hands on and prayed for the church and then turned around and did the same for our community. Those prayers have been followed by continued prayers each Sunday during worship for our church and community. We pray for the empty pews, our next pastor, and future musicians.

I was especially proud of the congregation when a couple of weeks before the block party there were five teams of two each who went out into the community and delivered 100 invitations door-to-door for the upcoming event. There were also five members praying at home and I was praying at the church while the invitations were being delivered.

The morning of the block party began with an outdoor worship service with 41 people in attendance – nearly twice our average worship attendance. One of our church members even provided special music during the service. After the worship service we served a traditional picnic lunch including hot dogs, baked beans, macaroni salad, and watermelon along with other foods. Several people arrived to join the picnic lunch and brought their children to enjoy an afternoon with a swings ride, corn hole, horseshoes, giant beach balls, and other games. Book bags and school supplies were also given out to school-age children in attendance. The local fire department brought its squad and provided information and blood pressure checks.

We look forward to serving with the community in other ways in the coming year.

The Conference Communications team would like to share other stories that highlight ways that each of us is answering the call to reach out to our communities in creative ways. Please e-mail your ministry story to EOC Executive Director of Communications Rick Wolcott at wolcott@eocumc.com.

* Deborah Kellar is a retired local pastor appointed to Christ United Methodist Church in East Springfield.