By Ann Geyer and Dana Myers
As an expression of its mission to share the love of Christ with its community, Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Enola began the new year by inviting members of the congregation to collect gently used flat shoes, coats, sweaters, hats, scarves, and gloves for Downtown Daily Bread in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The church’s Fund Raising Committee coordinated the effort.
As word of the outreach spread on social media, persons from across the local community, and as far away as New York and Oklahoma, sent bags of winter wear to the church. Shoes were placed next to the pews, coats were laid on the altar of the church’s sanctuary, and many more items filled bins placed in the church’s gathering area. These items were blessed before they were delivered to area ministries.
The overwhelming response meant that Mount Zion Church was able to expand this outreach to include Bethesda Mission, New Digs Ministries in Mechanicsburg, and a domestic shelter in Lebanon, which made fourteen bags of clothing available to families displaced from Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria.
