Nearly 75 "missionaries," from a dozen churches around the Oregon Conference, recently participated in a three-day mini-mission trip, the community impact weekend, to Sweet Home, Ore.
On Friday morning, teams headed out to tackle a list of jobs the Sweet Home (Ore.) Church had collected from around town. Projects included: cleaning, maintenance, and painting at the senior center and domestic violence shelter; painting at a health food store; household maintenance and yard work. Some brought local homes up to code; others gathered litter, collected food, mowed lawns, built raised garden beds, and much more.
Additionally the church hosted a health and safety fair, conducting free blood pressure and pulse checks, eye exams, hearing tests, hearing-aid cleanings and mini massages. There was fingerprinting and safety photos of children, free car-seat checks by police, and even a fire truck for children.
Friday evening they hosted a free Vegetarian Tasting Affair, where the public sampled food and received recipes. Healthy Living Ministries, from southern Oregon, served as a co-host.
Sabbath afternoon, the church gave a free Joe Pearles, country-gospel concert. Military veterans were also honored.
The Elks club hosted a free breakfast Sunday morning in support of the volunteers.
Mini-missions are being sponsored by the Oregon Women's Ministries department. An offering was taken at the 2009 women's retreat providing $1,500 to the Florence (Ore.) Church for their community in 2010. The overflow, $1,000, was used as seed money for the Sweet Home weekend.
If you are interested in hosting a community impact weekend, contact Cheri Corder, Oregon Conference women's ministries director, at 503-850-3500.
"Missionaries" to Sweet Home, Ore., conduct litter patrol in the community.
