Mission Barn at a New Level

 

There are times when an event or project seems to have a life of its own – when energy and activity seem to be directed by the Spirit – when the vision of those involved seems to be expanding on its own, beyond what everyone originally thought possible and faster than they ever dreamed. That’s the way it’s been this past year with the Eastbrook Mission Barn. 

The Barn is now designated as one of four UMCOR Relief Supply Network Depots. The others are in Illinois, and North Carolina. 

Teams of volunteers show up every week at the barn to verify kits, to make kits from scratch, to sew tiny nightgowns for infants or school bags for children in some far off place. There are teams of teen-agers or elderly women. Sitting and sewing or checking kits is something easily done by even those with handicapping conditions. 

Some teams finish verifying all the kits available, then decide it isn’t yet time for them to leave. They work on other things, like painting the verification room which has continued to evolve into more and more useful space.

 

Training: August 9-12, four members of the Mission Barn Board of Directors (Nelson and Linda Thayer, Bob Falla, and Marilyn McCloud) joined other representatives at the UMCOR Sager Brown depot in Louisiana. Not only did they receive training and answers for their questions about “how to,” but they shared stories with each other, learning about the regional ministries offered by each depot in its unique setting. The Eastbrook Mission Barn is becoming a training center for building ramps by modules. Teen-agers from Mission Discovery (School of Mission) completed two ramps during their short week in July.) The Barn’s space and location make it an excellent facility for reaching out into Lawrence, Butler, and Venango Counties to help meet the need of handicap accessibility.   

 

Kit Manufacturing: Each of the relief supply depots has so many volunteers offering their services, and the teams have become so efficient, that they quickly work through the verification of thousands of kits. They’ve all come to the point of now adding “kit manufacturing” to the tasks done by volunteer teams. Eastbrook has also reached this point It’s now time for some churches, groups, and individuals to focus on raising money for the Mission Barn to purchase bulk materials so that teams can build kits from scratch.  

 

Answering God's Call: Volunteering at the Mission Barn is much more than making or verifying a kit. It’s becoming aware of the bigger picture, answering God’s call, joining others to make a powerful Christian witness. It’s an opportunity to give back. 

Women from a local halfway house have been volunteering at the Mission Barn for over a year now, putting in over 2100 hours. 

 Mentally challenged adults from the Allegheny Valley School have been studying how to do a health kit in their class. For the past six months a group of those students have been coming to the Mission Barn every Thursday. They’ve experienced the ministry of this place; they’ve been in mission themselves. 

Nelson Thayer and others who oversee activities have gotten to know these folks by name; they’ve shared about themselves and their families; they’ve built relationships.

 

Outreach at the Barn and its ministry continue to evolve. There’s the dream of creating a sewing room like that at Sager Brown – with better quality sewing machines and volunteers who know how to sew overseeing an expanded sewing ministry. There’s the continuing re-design of the barn and some internal construction that will happen this fall. Diane Miller will alert folks of construction needs through e-news and her distribution list if this is where your skills/passion are. Or, give Nelson Thayer a call (724/ 462-4090) to be first on his list of interested volunteers. 

 

Idea!! Field Trip! Want a beautiful autumn drive for your UMW circle/unit or your team of volunteers? Take a field trip to the Mission Barn. Stop on the way at the Conference Center in Cranberry Township. Call me and we’ll give you a tour of the Conference Center, a short program (if you wish), and send you on your way, north on Route 79.  Forty-five minutes later you’ll be at the Mission Barn where you can volunteer for an hour or two. Then stop at the Grove City Outlet Mall for supper and you’ve made a day of it. If you’re coming from another direction, I’ll  meet you at the Barn and provide a program there. For goodness sake – what’s stopping you from having fun while you learn about and do mission?