The moment that crystallized everything for the Rev. Elizabeth Kirkpatrick unfolded naturally between an elderly resident of the Keepsake Village of Columbus retirement home and a small, preschool girl.
After Kirkpatrick’s Fairlawn Presbyterian Church members had spent time singing with the residents during a recent visit, the youngster casually chatted with the resident.
And then their time together ended with a playful fist bump.
“That was God’s love in action,” said Kirkpatrick, who became Fairlawn’s pastor slightly less than a year ago. “That just really spoke to me.
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“It’s powerful to be able to find a way to let children know they have made a difference to someone, and also to show someone who may have been an Alzheimer’s patient that they are so important and that someone else cares.”
The scene was part of Fairlawn’s recent Go And Serve outreach in which church leaders canceled the Sunday worship service for two hours of hands-on community service:
Cleaning and repairs at Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators
Cleaning and clothes washing at Brighter Days Housing
Singing at Willow Crossing Health & Rehabilitation Center and Keepsake Village
Writing letters of encouragement to 75 children being helped by the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center
Putting together orientation folders for Fairlawn Preschool
If that’s not enough, in a separate effort, members just assembled classroom supplies for every teacher at Smith Elementary School.
Other area churches have done similar outreaches through the years under various names and labels. But Kirkpatrick’s idea stands as different because her church’s weekly attendance — about 50 people — is smaller than most other houses of worship that have pursued such projects.
“It’s not about how big your congregation is,” the pastor said. “It’s about how big your heart is.”
Volunteers ranged in age from 2 to about 90.
“There was something that everyone could do,” she said. “And when you’re a Christian and it comes to the Gospel, you can’t just hear it. You have to be willing to live it. You have to show it. You have to serve others.”
Yet, the outing did more than that. Kirkpatrick watched it built a sense of added teamwork and unity among members as they worked alongside one another, and then shared their stories at a post-volunteer pizza gathering topped with love at the church. Mariane Hinds was excited to share the emotional warmth she felt from serving — while cleaning toilets at Brighter Days.
“I found it to be a wonderful experience,” Hinds said, adding that Fairlawn leaders always have promoted the idea of “being the hands and feet of Christ” to others.
Overall, the effort was such a success that Kirkpatrick and church leaders would like to enact other such outreaches maybe three times per year.
“At Fairlawn Presbyterian,” Kirkatrick said, “we’re simply trying to love God, and love our neighbor.”
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Leaders and volunteers at Fairlawn Presbyterian Church’s recent Go And Serve day said it was so successful that they hope to duplicate such efforts at various community locations maybe three times per year.
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