news article
Church inspired by AC session mission project
January 20, 2015 / By Beth DiCocco / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Inspired by the hands-on mission project at the 2014 Upper New York Annual Conference session, the Adirondack Community Church in Lake Placid will be doing its first meal-packing mission for Stop Hunger Now on Jan. 25, 2015.
Stop Hunger Now (SHN) began in 2005, and distributes meals around the world. Volunteers will work assembly-line style to measure out the dehydrated ingredients and package the meals. The meals contain rice, soy, vegetables, flavoring and 21 essential vitamins and minerals. The meals are economical and easy to transport and store.
Photo courtesy of Stop Hunger Now
Kaysie Kyler, who serves as the Adirondack Community Church's youth leader with her husband, Lee, is organizing the SHN project as one of the church's monthly missions. Kyler talked about her experience helping out at AC 14.
"The energy of the crowd was really fun. People who didn't know each other were working together. It was a really fun atmosphere," she said. "You feel like you're making a difference."
Kyler remembers thinking: "We have to do that here."
In April 2014, the church started doing a monthly mission project. The idea is to involve as many people of all ages as possible and to show them that there are all kinds of ways to be in mission, Kyler said.
They have joined in on the village cleanup, helped get a camp ready for summer, participated in an Out of the Darkness Walk to raise awareness about suicide, done a winter outerwear drive and a drive to help stock the food pantry for the holidays.
The SHN mission should fit in to the monthly mission concept really well, Kyler said.
"First of all, it's really fun," she said. "I loved the whole vibe, and the whole church can get involved – old, young – you don't have to be capable of lifting ... it met that goal that anyone, any age, even little kids (can take part)."
It's also a way for those who attend the church's two services to "get together and have fun," she said.
When people talk about exciting things happening in the church, the monthly mission project is one of the things they mention, Kyler said. "John (the Rev. John Martin, pastor) likes that we're excited about it."
At AC 14, members packed 76,040 meals, exceeding the 75,000 meal goal. Kyler said the church plans to spend about two hours packing 10,000 meals. She hopes that at least 40-50 people of all ages will volunteer.
Kyler said setting up the SHN mission project was "a super easy process, if other churches are thinking about doing it."
The contract was organized quickly, she said, and the cost is about $3,300, and includes travel expenses for SHN, which is coming from Boston.
"It's easily doable to pack and pay for 10,000 meals, and have a really good time in the process," Kyler said. "It's a good way to start teaching little kids about global hunger ... we feed people here with our food pantry, and we need to feed people all over the world."
Annual Conference members will have a chance to work on a SHN mission project at the 2015 session, which takes place May 27-30 in Syracuse. Watch the website for details about how to participate.