Hello NHCC family!

This Sunday, December 1 is a very important Sunday for us, and we wanted to make sure you had all the information you needed, so read on!

We are again partnering with Lifeline Christian Mission--one of our supported missions partners--for another meal pack event this Sunday. After sending a ministry scouting team to Lifeline's Honduras ministry center this year, and then taking the faith step to commit support of their new church work in Chloma, we are continuing that relationship by packing ship-ready dry meals to benefit food-insecure communities Lifeline serves through that Honduras ministry hub.

If you've never joined us for one of these, I want to shed some light on what it looks like, because we want to get as many people packing as possible. We basically transform our space here at the church, into packing stations to assemble dry meal bags. Individuals on packing station teams will add scoops of things like rice, beans, and dried veggies to a prep bag, others will be weighing, heat-sealing, and labeling... each station packing meals assembly-line style as we all churn out as many meal bags as we can. These bags are packed with nutrient-rich ingredients to provide meals to undernourished families and communities--each sealed bag we pack provides 6 meals.

So why now, and why during our "church time"? So glad you asked! November and December basically carry the rest of the year in our retail industries here in America. It's a season of excess--Thanksgiving and Christmas have become times where eating, consuming & receiving drive our culture. Retail sales, food sales, restaurant sales, catering orders, holiday party bookings, Amazon sales—they all go through the roof this time of the year. So we are choosing to take a Sunday morning--a time where we are normally fed & nourished spiritually, and use that time to feed others. It reminds us that God’s kingdom is NOT simply about receiving, but even more about giving and serving.

So grab your friends and neighbors, grab anyone you can, and come join us this Sunday. There will be two packing slots—8:30 & 10:30 am—and you can come for one or both packing times. This event is appropriate for kids 3rd grade and up to pack with their families. Kid-care up through 2nd grade will be available at the 10:30 block only. We'll gather in the sanctuary, share a brief communion devotional and watch an instructional video, then get to work. Lifeline staff will be here to guide us through everything, and they're bringing enough supplies for 50,000 meals--I'd love to see us hit that number!! But we're going to need as many hands as possible to do that, so please spread the word--this is a fanatic event to bring friends and family along!!

Just one important note: when we do these meal pack events, we sustain the cost for all supplies--the food, the packing and assembly materials, the cross state transport and the shipping, the lodging for Lifeline staff--and that cost is substantial. So if you feel led to contribute to this endeavor, we need your help. Use the ‘meal pack’ dropdown on the Tithe.ly menu or indicate 'meal pack' on your check or giving envelope.

Can't wait for Sunday--see you then!

Ethan

(P.S: a soy product may be part of the packing, for any who may be allergic--FYI.)