The Branch

This summer we're encouraging all of our folks to participate in One Thing - to use the next 75-days to intentionally join God in mission to the world.

So ask yourself - "If I were to do One Thing this summer to share God's love, what would it be? If I were to do One Thing that extended God's hospitality and acceptance - where would I do it? If I were to do One Thing that helped to usher in grace and peace in someone's life, who would it be?" What will be your One Thing...

For more info on ONE THING, check out Nate's video debut (click play above or click here for a larger version) and the June 1st message. To explore some possibilities, click "read more" below.

Today I went to Vets Park in Downtown Grand Rapids, where every Tuesday a group of volunteers feeds hotdogs, chili, pb and j , desert, and drinks to hundreds of homeless people as well as anyone who wants to stop by. On my way, I was waiting at the bus stop with a women and we started to talk about where I was going. She had been there before and began to tell of how horrible it was and how careful I should be. She warned me that the smell of the homeless people was so terrible that it made her approach the point of vomiting. So bad she couldn’t even continue to eat.

Every 6 weeks or so we try and give an honest assessment of where we are financially. To get started, here are the offerings from the last six weeks...

7/6
7/13
7/20
7/27
8/3
8/10
8/17

The average for these six weeks is $1718/week.
To meet our budget, we need to receive $2067 a week, which means that when you add it all up we're roughly $3000 behind for the year. While $3000 isn't an impossible amount to make up, it does make things very tight and potentially keeps us from pursuing our biggest dreams and hopes for impacting our neighborhood.

Over the last six weeks we've been taking an honest look at what it means to live in America, both the blessings and the challenges. We've talked about major forces that often grip our lives such as consumerism and individualism. We've considered our impact on the environment and our participation in global systems that are often riddled with injustice. Needless to say, it's been a stretching six weeks.

Thanks to those who have taken an upcoming meal night! We have just one more date between now and July. Let us know if you're interested (don't forget, if hosting on your own sounds like too much, there are people at the Branch who want to team up with you). E-mail chris@thebranchonline.org. Here is the unspoken-for date:

June 20

I'm not done just yet, but I'm putting it back up for you to explore while I plug away. Feel free to explore (what little there is at the moment). Also if you so desire, you can sign up for an account. In fact, I'd love it if you did. Having user accounts should allow us to do some pretty interesting things together here in the future...