Update from the President

Cincinnati UCG Distributes Farm-to-Family Food Boxes

This past Monday, Oct. 26, we distributed 1,248 boxes of fresh food to our community from the home office. We received a semi-load of “Farmers to Family Food Boxes” containing fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat. Each box of food weighed 18 pounds. Total retail value of the food distributed was more than $56,000.

When the truck arrived on Monday morning, we began to unload it with our forklift and organized the boxes for distribution. About 60 Cincinnati brethren, including our Ambassador Bible College students, turned out to help with this project.

Distribution started at 4 p.m. and lasted until about 6 p.m. A steady stream of traffic came through the home office parking lot in two lines for pickup. Those coming included people in need, representatives from food pantries and just regular citizens eligible for this program.

This event was made possible through one section of the “CARES Act” stimulus package. Funding came through the United States Department of Agriculture to support farmers and help distributors disperse their produce during a time when many restaurants have closed or have greatly reduced their consumption. The pandemic caused a disruption in the supply chain and left large amounts of produce unsold. So, the Farmers-to-Families Food Box program brought assistance to farmers, distributors and everyday Americans. The boxes were directed to nonprofits, churches and food pantries that serve American families.

Pastor Steve Myers helped organize the event and mentioned: “It is a wonderful blessing to be able to serve our community through this program and help make a little bit of difference to those in need. It’s an inspiration to see how quickly God’s people came together to help make this happen.”

It wasn’t until this past Friday that we found out the delivery would happen on Monday. Immediately, members in the area were asked to share the details on social media, spread the word and sign up to help distribute the boxes three days later. Peter Eddington designed an attractive poster that we shared on Facebook and Twitter. Members spread the word through neighborhood groups on the Internet. A Rotarian whose graphics business is down the hill from the home office produced a large welcome sign overnight designed by Clint Porter.

Cincinnati members directed traffic, loaded cars and restocked boxes. For such short notice, the event was very well-organized. Masked volunteers loaded the desired number of boxes into cars passing through so that the delivery was contactless and those receiving the food could remain in their cars. Many took extra boxes for friends, relatives and neighbors, especially for those in need.

At our home office focus meeting on Monday morning before the event, Peter Eddington remarked:

“Our mission as a Church includes preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God to all people, and caring for those disciples whom God calls. That includes spiritual caring, but also physical caring—to do good to all. Our major emphasis is on spending as many resources as possible preaching the gospel. This is because we are a global church, not just based in one town or suburb like many churches are. And so, we need to support opportunities like the Family to Food program and be involved when we can support our local community as well.”

He drew the employees’ attention to Matthew 25:34-40 in which Jesus commended the righteous for giving Him food when He was hungry, drink when He was thirsty and so on. When they asked him, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed you...?” He answered, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

We took a step in that direction of community service and outreach by distributing these food boxes. Due to the great turnout as well as the immediate and enthusiastic support from local brethren, we hope to make this type of effort a more regular occurrence in the future as we preach the gospel and shine Christian light through service to our local community. We are making arrangements for another such distribution in a few weeks.

Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry was dominated by His compassion for the hurting, the sick, the needy. He healed the sick. At highly attended open-air sermons, He made sure that people had food to eat.

This event brought hundreds of visitors onto the property of the home office and helped better acquaint us. We posted a sticker on each box stating that this distribution was courtesy of the United Church of God.

We all felt so encouraged by how well this event worked. We thank everyone again for their support and participation to serve our community. A short video Peter Eddington created during the food drive can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvcu7rOQlew.

ABC Career/Education Module

On Tuesday and Wednesday this past week, a team of four (Andy Lee, Michelle Waterhouse, Mike Cook and Lisa Fenchel) conducted a career/education module for Ambassador Bible College. It started with a biblical foundation for career planning, a personality test, resume and interviewing tips, a panel discussion about seeking wise counsel, your career as a journey, and how to thrive in the workplace. I recorded podcasts with Andy Lee and Michelle Waterhouse, with Andy Lee’s podcast available this week.