Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry

In December, the food pantry at ABCCM was bare, so we held another food drive.  ABCCM operates a crisis center that assists the needy with food, rent and mortgage assistance, utilities and fuel, and medications.  They typically have to buy their food so the more food that is donated to them, the more money they have freed up to help in other areas.  This time we were able to donate almost three times what we raised last time.  When we dropped it off, other organizations had donated in the last few weeks and built their supply up quite a bit.  They are still in need of clothes for the winter.  To donate, you can follow this link ABCCM

Make a Difference Day @ Hall Fletcher

Posted by The Volunteer coordinator at Hall Fletcher Elementary

On October 23, Hall Fletcher Elementary was rejuvenated! Through the help of 72 fantastic Volunteers, monumental progress in the garden, the library, the athletics department and in classrooms was made at Make a Difference Day.  Gathering at the school early Saturday morning, there was energy buzzing around and rearing to get started on projects.  ProjectPOWER/AmeriCorps played a huge role in organizing and developing different projects, completing tasks and helping volunteers. With a huge amount of help from Missio Dei Church, We were able to get our soccer fields lined, basketball courts painted, our speech therapist got a great deal of help, the library received attention, and classrooms were organized. AmeriCorp VISTA members invested their time and energy into the garden, the athletics department and inside the school building. Our athletic team turned the boring solid black basketball court into a vibrant, colorful space for children to play hopscotch, foursquare and basketball games.  Indoors, the garden room was painted, the library was cleaned and organized from top to bottom and a theater was built.  The garden team rocked outdoors that day and a team of volunteers gave our memorial garden a makeover, making it a sweet and loved spot for the student it is dedicated to.  Blue Moon Water donated two cases of water for the event and food was provided by City Bakery, Standard Pizza in West Asheville, and Franks Pizza on Tunnel Rd. Supplies to make this day possible came from donations by volunteers involved and HUGE donations from Lowe’s on Tunnel Rd, with rollers, spray paint, stakes, line, paint brushes and more! We also receive Chalkboard Paint from Home Depot and we used that to paint the garden room.  Teachers from Hall Fletcher showed up to lend a hand and get things done for their classrooms and help volunteers get placed and put to work. The work done at this school that day has changed the educational environment for the students whom which it serves, they will see this progress and know that people care about them and care about this lovely school in West Asheville.

Hall Fletcher Elementary School Supply Drive

This school year, we are partnering with Hall Fletcher Elementary School to help meet the needs of students and their families.  One of the first ways we participated was by helping provide needed school supplies.  We wanted to bless these students beyond what they could have hoped for, so we asked everyone who attends to give sacrificially toward this project.  We were able to donate around 70 book bags for some of the neediest students in our city!

ABCCM Food Drive

From Sunday, April 18th until Sunday, May 9th we will be holding a food drive for ABCCM.  Barrels will be located in the front of the church on Sunday morning.  ABCCM operates a crisis center that assists the needy with food, rent and mortgage assistance, utilities and fuel, and medications.  They typically have to buy their food so the more food that is donated to them, the more money they have freed up to help in other areas.

Items needed are :

canned meats(spam, stew, etc),

Tune and Salmon

Self Rising Flour

Sugar

Hot and Cold Cereal

Canned Fruits

Saltine Crackers

Cooking Oil

Juices

Canned Soups

Pasta and Sauce

Jelly

For more information about ABCCM, you can visit their site at abccm.org

Senior Opportunity Center

Through the City of Asheville Parks Department, we had the opportunity to paint the inside of the Senior Opportunity Center on Grove Street in downtown Asheville.  The center offers a variety of programs for senior citizens, including a multi-purpose area, greenhouse, craft and sewing room, and a billiard room. It had been quite some time since the center was last painted and the city does not have the time or man power to keep these buildings looking fresh and inviting.

Easter Eggs

Days before the event was to take place, a few of us were able to lend a hand to Charlotte Street Computers in preparing for an Easter Eggs hunt for the masses.  For the past couple of years Charlotte Street Computers has hosted a hunt for the children of the Asheville Community, a blessing that most of the youngsters in Asheville’s public housing wouldn’t normally experience.  Partnering with WOXL and the Asheville Tourists, they fill McCormick Field with candy-filled plastic eggs to the brim and set the children free.  In a few short hours, our group was able to aid in this event by stuffing thousands of eggs with sugary goodness.  The time we spent was minimal, but for many, the impact was great.  As we work towards completing many more tasks in the future, we look to Jesus as our motivation because it is only through Him that we even have the ability to show His love to others.

Pre-foreclosure

Through the everyday life of a group member -you don’t always have to look far- we found a couple in desperate need of assistance.  He lost his job and hasn’t been able to find work for some time, although recently hired at Lowes, his benefits won’t start for a few months and his salary is minimal.  She lost her job due to health reasons and cannot work anymore.  They are trying to sell their house before the bank forecloses on it, and just need some hands to help make repairs.  A few of us were able to spend an afternoon illustrating God’s love and preparing the house for showing.

The work included lifting the existing deck by digging out the posts and filling in underneath, painting the deck, touch up painting around windows and doors, and painting second floor dormers that the home owner could not reach

We also came to find out that the house did not have a stove, which the City of Asheville requires you have in order to sell a house within city limits.  After a few replies to craigslist ads, a generous soul gave us a stove for free that he was originally trying to sell.

Faith without Works

James 2:14-18

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Lead Pastor’s Home

Our next project brought us closer to home, giving us the opportunity to help a family from within our church.  We were able to reciprocate the love that our pastor and his wife show us each and every day, by doing a few small renovations/projects in their home.  In a few short hours, kitchen cabinets were sanded and stained, the living room and hallway were painted, the popcorn ceiling in the bathroom was sanded smooth, and a bedroom closet got a huge expansion.

Jesus’ example

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2: 3-7)

In this passage, Paul is writing to the Philippians.  He realizes that everyone naturally looks out for his or her own interests.  The key is to take that same level of concern and apply it to the interest of others.  Such radical love is rare, so Paul proceeds to show how its reality is played out in Jesus’ life.