Local Church Gets Handsy with Community

The congregation of Foothills United Methodist Church  got handsy with the community on Sunday, Oct. 10. In an effort to make better the community they love and redefine what it means to be a "church," more than 200 volunteers took to the La Mesa and Spring Valley communities to perform various service projects as part of Impact Day.

"The event was part of a national denominational push called "Rethink Church," said Foothills Pastor John Farley. "We think that church should be more of a verb than a noun, and we think that we can have more impact when the church is in motion."

The congregation took on beautification projects at Kempton Elementary School while also painting and doing yard work at the SDSU Wesley Foundation.

They also performed neighborhood cleanups from Avocado Boulevard, to Fury Lane, to Brabham Street, and in Via Rancho San Diego, including Hillsdale Middle School Park.

"There was a fantastic, spirit-filled energy," said Farley. "We want people to think of our church as not just an institution."

In addition, volunteers also performed environmental cleanups of many of the community parks, including Vista Park and Lubbock Avenue "mini-park" in La Mesa and Glenfield Park in El Cajon.

Volunteers who did not go out into the community stayed at the church for on-site volunteer opportunities, such as painting tiles for a Peace Wall, putting together snack bags for the area's homeless, and assembling toy cars to give to underprivileged kids.

Elderly and disabled members of the church also made an impact in their own way, by writing letters to military families, prisoners at Donovan State Prison, and missionary families in the Methodist Church worldwide.

Farley said that the existing partnerships that the church had in place—such as with Meals On Wheels and with shut-ins—helped them find ways to serve, rather than trying to reinvent things.

This was the second such Impact Day that Foothills has done. Farley said that his congregation is looking into taking the national Methodist Church initiative even further by creating weekly opportunities to serve in a program called CREW, which stands for Christians Responding Every Sunday.

"There were just a lot of projects that we started on Sunday that we didn't get a chance to finish," Farley said.

The day of service wrapped up with a celebration at the church that featured live music, food and a bounce house for the kids.

Photos courtesy of Adam Klarer Photgraphy.