On Saturday, July 13th, 130 people from 10 area churches and several organizations came together to paint and landscape at Periwinkle Elementary during the 15th annual day of service.
ServeINC is a volunteer organization that brings together local churches, sponsors and volunteers for an annual day of service in the Albany community. We have often partnered with the Greater Albany Public Schools to help paint and landscape schools.
During the opening instructions for the day project manager Jon Killinger said, “Let’s get some paint on the school. Let’s get them a good product. We bought $15,000 worth of paint, bark chips and supplies.” Continuing he said, “we are here because we want to show love. To love one another. To love our community.”
Verbatim church joined the project for the first time. Pastor Tanner Ferguson commented, “We’re here, because we’re called to serve our community and we love to be able to come together with these other churches. I really love that we’ve had the opportunity to come together and hang out with some other pastors, other cool brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Nicholas Nott, a student at Adult and Teen Challenge in Shedd, OR was helping with both painting and landscaping with several others from the organization.
He added that, “We’re supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves. That’s the biggest one for me, the idea that my service is from intentionality not compulsion.” Quoting Philemon 14, one of his favorite scriptures, “that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.”
Emily Tedrow of Jesus Pursuit Church summed up the feeling of many, “It’s important that the church join forces together and be the church. Through acts of service and worship. And this is a great way to do it.“
That’s what ServeINC is about, joining together with the body of Christ because “We are better together.”