GREENFIELD — They trimmed dead limbs from a tree. They weeded a large flower bed. They planted purple and yellow wave petunias and laid down mulch.
Across town, others climbed a ladder and cleaned out gutters.
Bradley United Methodist Church sent groups out June 1 in a community service morning the church offers each spring and fall. Groups helped with outdoor chores at seven sites in the community.
“It’s a great way to be the hands and the feet of Jesus here in Greenfield,” said Sue True, one of the Bradley volunteers. “It brings joy to us to be able to help them. … I think it brings a little joy to them to know they haven’t been forgotten.”
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While some of those helped are part of the church, the volunteers also labored for other homeowners they’ve been put in touch with through Hancock County Senior Services. One Senior Services client, who’s been visited by these teams over several years, was particularly pleased to see them again on June 1.
The Rev. David Scifres, senior pastor of the church, said moments like that are a meaningful part of the day.
“It’s not necessarily about cards and letters (thanking the volunteers) or church attendance,” he said. “I think the great thing that could be happening is we’re developing relationships with people.”
Before they go to their tasks, volunteers gather at the church for a devotion and Communion. Scifres said in his Communion meditation he sought to remind the volunteers of the importance of going out to serve and of the power of Communion, “a reminder that we are constantly being refreshed by the Spirit of Christ to do his work in our community.”
After that time together at church, teams helping with outdoor chores go to their assigned sites. Other volunteers gather in the church parlor and serve on the Card Brigade, writing notes to shut-ins and to others in the community, such as police officers, firefighters and other public servants. True estimates that between the yard work and the card sending, about 80 to 100 people were somehow touched by the morning’s work.
“The benefits are much greater than the time spent,” she said.
Bob Long, executive director of Hancock County Senior Services, agreed that those Saturdays of service make a difference.
“This is such a morale-booster for our seniors, who love their homes, but find it increasingly difficult to do things like plant flowers, weed, and put down mulch,” he wrote in an email to the Daily Reporter. “There’s no place like home, and these volunteers provide a ray of sunshine for our clients!”
