V Hugh Lewis II
Jefferson Jimplecute
St. Paul UMC wants to be one of the blessings in the community and to do that they’ve launched two new offerings introduced over Memorial Day weekend.
“We are a caring community church,” said ST. Paul’s Rev. Ray Walker, “and I believe that these two initiatives are a testament to that fact.”
The church is sponsoring both a “Little Free Library” and a “Blessing Box” on the church grounds.
The library “doesn’t just belong to us, it belongs to the whole city,” says Dr. Cahnidice Matthews who is the steward of the project. “It’s our hope that this little free library will bring a little more joy, a little more connection and a whole lot more books to our community.”
Matthews is also the steward for the Blessing Box project.
The program has an outdoor pantry which offers a new way for Jefferson neighbors to provide non-perishable items to their neighbors in need. Acceptable items include unexpired canned goods, paper products, toiletries, and the like, “anything that can withstand the Texas heat” said Matthews.
“Summer is upon us and kids are out of school,” she said. “That means one to two additional meals that families are now responsible for. This Blessing Box will hopefully provide families with an additional resource to keep hungry stomachs fed.
Both the Little Free Library and the Blessing Box are located on the church grounds at 111 Crawford Street.