Outreach on the run

DRUMHELLER, Alberta – When members of Grace Lutheran Church discovered that 400 students and staff from the junior/senior high school were planning to make seven laps around the church Friday, September 25 as part of a circuit for the Terry Fox Run, they decided to reach out to the teenagers and teachers by setting up a barbecue in the church parking lot and offering free hot dogs and pop.

The church’s youth band provided music and church members handed out 400 chocolate bars which included invitations to the youth group’s kick off event a few days later.

Since the activity ran into the noon hour, many students and staff hung out on the church’s lawn and the neighbouring boulevards listening to the youth band, visiting with members of the congregation, and meeting the pastor.

The kindness of the congregation members who cooked for them overwhelmed the students who even made thank you cards addressed to Grace. Several of the school’s staff commented how very impressed they were by the generosity of the congregation and said they might check out a service on Sunday. For some, it was the closest they had ever been to a church in their lives.

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