Thursday Night Catalyst Group at The Schoen’s
Ministry: Meals on Wheels, Etc.
Sanford, FL
After visiting the St. Luke’s Ministry Fair our group reviewed the many options available to be of service in the mission field of Oviedo and surrounding communities.
We chose Meals on Wheels, Etc. because of the many diverse opportunities it has within its organization that would lend itself to each of our abilities.
We made contact with their Community Relations Coordinator and decided to start with their Senior Gift Bag Program. We budgeted a $1000.00 of grant monies which would give us $50.00/gift bag and planned where to shop to get the most for our money.
We met at BJ’s Restaurant and enjoyed lunch and fellowship while we brain stormed items we felt would be best served and enjoyed by Seniors.
And then we went shopping! We found holiday fleece throws with matching socks at JoAnn Fabrics on sale. When we approached the manager of the store and told her what we were doing and how many we wanted she lowered the price! At Publix we purchased their Holiday Reusable Groceries bags to use as gift bags and purchased blank notecards, personal care items, word search books and even postage stamps at local stores such as Target & The Dollar Store. That evening we met to assemble our bags and plan our delivery date.
On the day we delivered our Senior Gift Bags we were met by the Executive Director and was given an overview of Meals on Wheels, Etc. Etcetera is an understatement! Not only does Meals on Wheels do home delivery but they also have 4 neighborhood sites where they serve lunch 5 days a week. They cook and package the meals themselves. They offer transportation to neighborhood dining, shopping, and medical appointments. They have a division that does Catering which includes not only social events but serves daily meals to 20+ schools/day care and adult day centers as well as the Hope & Healing Opioid Center. They also prepare and deliver “shelf worthy” (non perishale) meals during hurricane watch and warnings. In addition they offer Home Maker care for repairs, Chore assistance and even weatherization of homes. With so much to offer each of us can choose to volunteer in an area according to their own desires and capabilities.
When the tour was over they showed us the room where the Senior Gift Bags were being collected and organized. We found ourselves overwhelmed with emotion and the realization that despite all the trouble we hear on the news; we could visible see that here was a place where God’s work was being done and making a difference. And we so want to be a part of it and God’s work. We feel very grateful and thankful that each of us could help and our plan for 2023 is to plug in and work as a team to do more and be the hands and feet of Christ at Meals on Wheels, etc.
Each of us is also grateful that we are part of a church that is making their mission to lead its members to work in the mission field. It is an amazing feeling to be a part of such an inspiring, fulfilling and alive church.
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
