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‘Rethink church’ inspires Lyons UMC to community outreach

Lyons UMC members help a neighbor by cleaning windows and reinstalling storm windows for “Rethink Church Sunday” Sept. 13. (photo by Vickie Folk)

Written: 10/23/2009

By Susan Cooper
Marketing and Communications associate director
LYONS—To engage in risk-taking mission, the members of Lyons United Methodist Church hosted a “Rethink Church Sunday” Sept. 13. The vision for the event was to get out of the pews and into the community.

“It was intended for us to be not just talkers of the word but doers of the word, to make connections in the community, for them to see us as more than a Sunday morning place we gather for entertainment,” said the church pastor Rev. Quentin Bennett.

The mission was to help people in the community with projects they had been unable to do themselves, such as yard clean up and washing windows.

The congregation began planning the event in April. To facilitate the mission, the local newspaper was contacted, which published several articles about the event in advance. Later, the congregation placed door hangers on targeted houses with information about the mission and a promise to be contacted about work needing to be done.

“We had to be careful about doing this, but we looked for places where it looked like people couldn’t get out and do work themselves. If someone answered the door, we invited them to let us help. If there was

Lyons UMC members remove ivy from a neighbor’s house Sept. 13. (photo by Vickie Folk)

Team captains were assigned to handle two to three jobs. They scouted what needed to be done and assigned people to their teams. One team captain was assigned to be the worship host, and another was in charge of the community meal, for which people would gather after the work projects.

“I think we did a really good job of getting the word out, and we were really intentional of tying it to the ‘Rethink Church’ campaign,” Bennett said.

The Lyons UMC members became aware that people in the community were intrigued. They heard people saying that the Methodists were asking for jobs and were not going to charge anything for the work.

However, Bennett acknowledged that the event provoked some anxiety for him in the planning stages because it was something they had never done before. The night before the “Rethink Church Sunday,” he was having trouble sleeping.

“I would lie on one side worrying that no one would come. Then, I would roll over and worry if too many people would come. I finally let go of it, laid on my back and fell asleep,” he joked.

On “Rethink Church Sunday,” the members met at the church at 8:15 a.m., sang a couple of hymns, had a blessing and embarked on their mission. Seventy members signed up to work, with three or four non-members joining the effort.

A total of 23 jobs were lined-up. Most of the work was trimming trees, clearing brush, mowing lawns and removing ivy. They picked up rocks from the yard at one place. Adults, youth and children worked on the projects.

Many of the members wore red, “Rethink Church” t-shirts to call more attention to the mission. Bennett said some members wore other red shirts, “so there was a lot of red out there.”

“We were a visible sign to the community. At one location, the neighbors came out and cheered,” he said.

Afterward, they returned to the church for lunch, which was attended by approximately 100 people, including a couple of visitors from the community. The Mud Bugs, a Zydeco band from Winfield, played traditional Christian songs.

Bennett said he thought more visitors would have attended, but the event coincided with the state fair.

Members shared their personal witness, photos of the work done were shown, and the group received Holy Communion.

“You don’t do ministry without being ministered to yourself. It’s not only the people on the receiving end of this who were blessed,” Bennett said.

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