A Food Drive & A Sword

Dear Friends,

In our gospel reading for this coming Sunday, Jesus says to his apostles, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” And if he had that sword at church on Sunday, we could literally sharpen it for him. I should explain.

After many committed years of leading the Men’s Fellowship food drive, Ron Arthur has formally handed over the leadership reins to Earl Wismer. If you don’t know Earl, you really ought to wish you did.

Earl is quick with a joke or an encouraging word but is also disarmingly honest and direct. He tells great stories, and his testimony about what Jesus has done will move you to tears. Professionally, he worked as a machinist. And then Earl was called by God — in a moment that was nothing short of miraculous — to a ministry with men. As God would have it, this meant working as a barber in the office of a car repair shop.

All the parts of that last sentence are true. I promise.

I’m writing this not as a paean to Earl (who is probably annoyed with me at this point anyway), but because Earl brings a special set of skills to our food drive, resulting in something that may never have been done before in the history of Christendom: ours is a combination food drive + knife sharpening.

All the parts of that last sentence are also true. I promise.

You can drop off your food, which will go to feed the hungry through the McKinney Little Free Pantry, and you can also drop off your knives (and/or scissors and machetes) which will be professionally sharpened ($2-$5 per item, depending, all proceeds will go to the pantry too).

The food drive is from 8:30 - 12 noon both Saturday and Sunday.

But — and I do mean this very seriously — no knives, scissors, or machetes in church. TO church; not IN church. From your car, directly to Earl, then directly back to your car.

Looking forward to a great Sunday of worship and raising food and money for our brothers and sisters!

In Christ,
Fr. Andrew