Loving Head to Foot

We love. The question for the Jesus following Christian is not on our mandate, it’s the delivery. Today we hear more and more about new and creative ways to show Christ’s love to the people and communities around us. That is just the focus that is coming to action in our city. Creative love.

Erase the Dark was a community-wide gathering earlier this month, drawing in an array of people. The churched and the unchurched, the artists and the connoisseurs, the young and old, many different groups all with one goal in mind: to show a practical love to those around us. Cypress Elementary school was the target of this specific love driven fundraiser. An effort was put forth to find a way to bless this school in the midst of California budget cuts. The teachers may not be the ones doing most of the receiving but they can’t help but smile as the students that they pour their lives into are getting presents.

A need was identified, and a means was found. The kid’s needed simple things: backpacks, shoes, pencils and paper. Most of them have not been used to these being in constant supply. Last year Erase the Dark (a community art festival and auction) raised enough money to buy every single student at cypress a brand new backpack. The backpacks were filled with school supplies and taken to the kids in the classroom personally. The smiles were wide spread, and the kid’s laughed and played with their new gear.

This year the bar had been set and the intention going into the art festival was to buy every kid a new pair of shoes, and the school supplies will be delivered individually to teachers for them to do as they see fit. As the event approached (a Friday night of music, art, and h’or dourves) sponsors throughout the businesses of Redding decided to pitch in. The funds they donated completely covered the cost of putting on the event so that every penny of the 7,000 dollars raised on Friday, March 6th was able to be poured into the School. Over 250 brand new pairs of shoes are to arrive soon and taken to the kids, and some extras will find their way into the classrooms as well.

The event was simple: artists donated paintings and photography, artists played original live music, artists put together fancy finger food, and artists created short films. Many churches were represented in the purchasing and donating of the art, and the pieces were sold in a “silent auction” style as they were put up for display.

The partnering of this Annual event and Cypress Elementary is just one of the ways that we are seeing the kingdom of God transform the “four walls” of the church into “four directions” of love.

This is about the people of God showing a separated world His nature. Love.

We love.

Kendall