Where Needs Get Action
The problem: how to connect givers of practical household items with those in need—without offending either one and without creating a lot of red tape.
For several years now, furniture, clothing, and all kinds of accessories have been flowing back and forth at Homewood Full Gospel Church in Illinois through a simple "Blessing Board" in the narthex. Two sets of cards are available for anyone to fill out and post on the two sides of the board: "Blessings" and "Needed Blessings." Whenever someone in the congregation of 700 notices a "Needed Blessing" he could fill, he takes the card and makes contact; whenever someone sees an object or item he could use, he does the same.
"The board seems to take care of itself—nothing has to run through the church office," says Walter Pedersen, pastor. "Yet it helps us all know what the needs are in our fellowship and do something about them."
What distinguishes this board from those at the local supermarket or Laundromat is that nothing is for sale here. No rentals are announced or services hawked. "We just want to share our abundance with one another," says Skip Vogel, church secretary. She remembers the very first exchange: a piano from a church family to a Spanish church being launched. "Not long ago," she adds, "a faithful young couple in the church was facing the arrival of their first baby—with no insurance because of unemployment. A note on the Blessing Board resulted in a total outfitting—baby clothes, a crib, a high chair, a wind-up swing, even maternity clothes for the mother! They were just overwhelmed.
"Now that the baby has arrived, this couple is already giving some of the things they received to others in need through the Blessing Board. That's what we love to see happen."
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