Community Service By Sharon Holbrook
Rainsboro United Methodist Church
Churches have always played a vital role in community service. This article is about one of them; one where I am proud and blessed to be an active member.
In 2021, an all-girl troop is scheduled to be formed. Both troops will have activities including camping, fishing, hiking, building, and lots of community service.
Rainsboro United Methodist Church sits between two lakes in the little community of Rainsboro, Ohio. This is a small church serving a farming community and is open to all who seek Jesus in a friendly, come as you are atmosphere. Being in a rural area, our pastor serves this church and another nearby church, Marshall United Methodist Church.
On Wednesday mornings, you can come to church for the best breakfast in town. A group of church volunteers serves coffee, juice, fresh fruit, biscuits and gravy, eggs, and bacon. This ministry started when the local restaurant closed down, leaving the community without a place to drink coffee and congregate. A church member, Ted Rhoads, who passed away in 2019, decided that the church could open its doors, kitchen, and fellowship room to the community and serve some coffee. Coffee Is On was born. Over the years, it has grown with leaps and bounds. Each week, we serve an average of 70 and sometimes as many as 109 people during the 3 hours we are open. That is a lot of eggs and coffee! The Coffee Is On volunteer crew take orders, cooks, serves at the tables, and cleans up. What a blessing to be able to provide this outreach. Saturday mornings the church is open and hosts groups of AA & ALA-NON. They are also served coffee, water, and donuts. This is a safe place and a common area for conversations. They take up a love offering to help offset the costs of letting them use the church. There are around 10-15 people who come every week.
Our church is open for in-person services but also offers streaming of our services on Facebook for those who cannot attend or prefer not during the COVID pandemic. Sunday morning worship is preceded by Sunday school classes, which include preschool, middlers, teens, and adults. To further serve the community, our Pastor, Jamie Darling, has started a Zoom Bible study which includes an interactive question and answer feature. Rainsboro UMC is very involved in scouting programs. A Cub Scout pack formed at the church 10 years ago with approximately 20 active members, including both girls and boys, in grades K-5th grade and two leaders over the age of 16. This outreach has become very popular in the community and has brought new families into the church. The Boy Scouts, which formed 3 years ago, meet on a separate night, and include boys in grades 6-12th. 50 | M AG A Z I N E N A M E PAGE 3 49
