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Asbury Methodist Church of Watertown Spreading LOVE and THANKS to Schools

November 16, 2021 / By Melanie Rafferty, Watertown: Asbury's co-chair of Membership & Evangelism

Asbury Methodist Church of Watertown, NY, has been visiting several organizations in the Watertown area to express our appreciation and show our love for all they do for our community. We have so far visited the Watertown Fire Department, Hospital (Samaritan Medical Center), Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Watertown Police Department. Over a large cake and/or gift bags, Pastor Laura Calos has offered our thanks to them for all the good work and support they provide, especially during the challenging circumstances brought on by COVID-19.

Our recent venture was to pack 700 ‘thank you’ baggies for every member of the Watertown School System. This included us taking individually wrapped baggies to 10 separate schools, grades K-12. Our acts of love and thanks organized by Asbury Membership & Evangelism Committee was both enjoyable and rewarding to load 700 baggies full of snacks and treats for All Teachers and Staff of the Watertown Schools.

How did we achieve this venture?  For 2-3 months, we asked church members to donate things like granola bars, sealed cookies, popcorn, tea bags, individualized chocolates, etc. Some people donated cash so that we could purchase the exact numbers of each item, which proved to be very helpful. We invited people to stay after church to load the baggies using an assembly-line style, seem below. And, yes, first we fed everyone with pizza and cake before we got started!  Although we all worked hard to get this act of love done, we also had a lot of fun socializing, joking around, and an organic men’s versus women’s competition ensued!!

Volunteers also offered to take a box chocked full of gift baggies to at least one of the school buildings. The reception was joyous and welcoming. They expressed that they were pleased that we included everyone in our thank you.