Sunday Sermon Summary

Today's sermon was about....well actually I can't remember what the sermon was titled; so I'll paraphrase....Diversity. We have a "new" pastor....who has been part of our church since this past summer. His outreach is to the spanish speaking community in areas surrounding our church....which obviously means he speaks spanish, and he does....very well I might add. His name is Armando, and I am blessed by him every time I speak to him. He is very intentional in the way he speaks to you....looking you in the eye, taking your hand in his, always saying something positive; and it's truly inspirational. Armando gave the sermon today....entitled???? or paraphrased (by me) as Diversity and the opportunities that arise. Since Armando has joined our church staff, he has been teaching ESL to the spanish speaking folks in our community, he has orchestrated and lead Las Pasados at Christmas (that was a ton of fun by the way), and he has done a ton of outreach in our local schools (including the elementary my children attend) and neighborhoods. Our church is focusing on something this year called the Ministry Mile (or M&M's as it has been nicknamed). This will be reaching out to people who live within a mile or so of our church and inviting them in....not just to worship, but to help them, feed them, clothe them, educate them, etc. Our church is very active in missions....worldwide, but it was decided that there are people right in arms reach who need ministering to or reaching out to....a kind heart and a loving hand. There are many things that are being started in 2009 at church....a spanish speaking worship service, weekend food (groceries bags of food sent home with children from school who otherwise would not eat all weekend), a free dinner provided once a month, and many more. I am so excited by this, because it gives my family a chance to serve....since we can't travel all over the world just yet. We also live less than a mile from our church, so my children go to school with many of these children and their families who will be served. Some think this could be embarassing for the children being served which may be true for the older children, but I think the younger children will be more likely to interact with other children they already know.
Now I'll give you some background about the area we live in....my house is a historical house (100 years old) and is in a very nice but old neighborhood. Our neighborhood is slowly but surely being completely revamped by the historical society of our city....which is good and bad (that requires another post), but there are areas that are designated as transitional housing (right across the street and right down the street from where we live). This is housing that our local....relief or goodwill....provides for people who need financial assistance due to some unforseen circumstance. It just happens to be that many of these people are hispanic, so since they live right across the street this means that these children go to school with my children. In our city, there are 2 elementary schools which are considered very low income schools....they are about 50/50 populated with hispanic children and white children. My elementary age children attend one of these schools, and they were the minority until this school year when some of the hispanic children were sent to another school (which is right down the street from us as well). The remainder of the elementary schools in our district are predominantly white and some of them are very high income or "wealthy" schools while some of them are middle class. I have heard the wealthy schools be referred to as "The Schools in the Bubble" for various reasons. At the elementary that my children attend, there have been many parents who embraced the diversity of our school....from the lower income families to the lack of volunteers for school events(simply because the parents work a lot or don't speak English). On the flip side of that, there have been many parents who were insistent in trying to transfer their children to "The Schools in the Bubble" or have been very outspoken about their dislike of the bilingual classrooms and blatant enough to say they disliked having so many hispanic children in the school. NPayne and I have been very happy with the elementary school our children attend, and our children are very happy there as well. I feel we have been blessed. I want my children to experience diversity, to know that we are all created in God's image and loved by Him....no matter what language we speak or how much money we have. I want my children to be kind and accepting, and I want them to know that some people have less money than we do and do without a lot more than we do. I want them to want to serve and help others with the love of God in their hearts and on their tongues....
Matthew 25:35 (Whole Chapter) For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.
Everytime you eat or see an M&M, say a prayer for our ministry mile and the people it is serving. The funny thing is I think the people who are doing the serving might receive as big of a blessing as the people who are being served.