Every year, the Guatemalan Consulate in Atlanta sends a mobile unit to Memphis to assist Guatemalans living and working in the United States with updates to their documents as well as applications for birth certificates, wedding licenses, and other important papers. 1,665 people from across Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri were assisted this year, but more than 500 people were not seen due to time constraints. Peace Tree’s Susan Lawhon and Jennie Dickerson organized and led the many volunteers needed to make this event possible. In our latest blog post, Jennie shares what this event means to her and why she signs up every year to volunteer.
One of the things I love about Peace Tree is that we are a “doing” church. We meet people where they are, whether it's the Blessing of the Animals at Suggs Park, a neighborhood event on the Collierville Town Square, or the annual Guatemalan Consulate Visit to Memphis. Last weekend, Peace Tree joined our United Methodist family at Asbury UMC and Iglesia Metodista Unida El Redentor to assist the local Guatemalan population file some tedious government paperwork. More than 1,600 people stood in line for hours to get updated government identification cards, birth certificates, passports and more. Volunteers (Spanish-speaking or not) helped make the process as smooth as possible by directing traffic, making copies of documents, answering questions, and keeping children entertained while parents spoke to consulate officials. The Guatemalan Consulate Visit is my favorite volunteer event of the year. To me, it epitomizes how we ought to live as Christians. We don't have to speak the same language or be from the same place to walk alongside each other and make this life a little easier. It’s faith in action and an opportunity to show grace and love to each other. This is what it means to “love thy neighbor,” and every year I'm grateful for this opportunity to do so. +Jennie Dickerson Summer is quickly approaching! With so many great camps, parks, and attractions in Collierville, you don't have to travel far to enjoy a fun family event. Check out Peace Tree's list of 30 things to do in Collierville this summer. 1. Walk the many trails found throughout Collierville's parks and explore the Peterson Lake Nature Center Arboretum (colliervilleparks.org/trails-arboretum). 2. Catch a free outdoor movie during Movie Mania at Carriage Crossing. Click HERE for the full schedule of family-friendly movies playing every other Friday night. 3. Discover what everyone's talking about and enjoy a sweet treat at the new Miccos Snocones on Houston Levee (www.miccossnocones.com). 4. Sign up your child for a fun week at VBS. Go back in time and visit Egypt at Collierville United Methodist Church, June 13-17 (www.colliervilleumc.org/vbs). 5. Enjoy a Friday night on the Collierville Town Square and listen to the music during the Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Jam starting around 6:30 p.m. (www.memphis-bluegrass.org). 6. Get involved with one of the many summer reading programs at the Collierville Burch Library (colliervillelibrary.org). 7. Sign up your young performer for one of this summer's Drama Kids summer camps. Click HERE to learn more about the different productions and camps being offered. 8. Learn to paint with Glenda Brown at the Morton Museum. This 4-week class teaches students the fundamentals of basic drawing skills, color principles, composition, materials & tools. (colliervillemuseum.org). 9. Stay up late for Glo Bowling at FunQuest every Friday and Saturday night starting at 9:30 p.m. (funquestbowl.com). 10. Grab a bite to eat for only $5 at the Wigfall Grey's Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, June 4th. Click HERE for more info including where to purchase tickets in advance. 11. Catch the premiere of Disney-Pixar's Finding Dory at the Malco Collierville Towne Cinema & Grill on Friday, June 17 (www.malco.com). 12. Sign up your child for the 'Summer of a Lifetime' during Chick-fil-A's WinShape Camp, June 27th through July 1st (www.winshapecamps.org). 13. Grab your fishing pole and head out to Herb Parsons Lake. The lake is open one half hour before sunrise and closes one half hour after sunset. Click HERE for more info. 14. Enjoy a delicious milkshake from Mensi's Dairy Bar near the Collierville Town Square. Check out their menu HERE. 15. Help someone in need by donating canned goods at the Collierville Food Pantry (collierville.com/residents/organizations). Call ahead for drop-off information: 901-853-3235. 16. Fly a kite and play some disc golf at the new Hinton Park off of E. Holmes Rd. Click HERE for directions and information. 17. Bring the whole family to the 2nd Annual Suggs Park Field Day. Stay cool with free ice-pop and play awhile on the splash pad. Click HERE for more info. 18. Sign up your child for an enriching and inspiring week of Art Camp with Creative Minds Art Studios. 19. Help animals in need by volunteering with the Collierville Animal Shelter. Click HERE to contact them today. 20. Enjoy a fun evening of music on the Collierville Town Square during the 25th Annual Sunset on the Square, every Thursday in June and July starting at 7:00 p.m. (www.mainstreetcollierville.org). 21. Register and start training for this September's Tour de Collierville. Click HERE to see last year's route. 22. Catch the premiere of Universal Studios' The Secret Life of Pets at the Malco Collierville Towne Cinema & Grill on Friday, July 8 (www.malco.com). 23. Grab a burger and a milkshake at Dyer's Café on the Collierville Town Square (dyerscollierville.com). 24. Watch the fireworks show with your neighbors on July 4th during the Independence Day Celebration at H. W. Cox Jr. Park. Click HERE for more details. 25. Sign up your child for a fun week of summer camp at the YMCA at Schilling Farms including a number of specialty camps (www.ymcamemphis.org). 26. Support local farmers and eat fresh after visiting the Collierville Farmers Market which takes place every Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the parking lot at Collierville United Methodist Church (www.colliervillefarmersmarket.org).
27. Cool down with an iced coffee from Square Beans on the Collierville Town Square (www.squarebeans.com). 28. Take your bicycle for a ride on miles and miles of trails that make up the Collierville Greenbelt System. Click HERE for more information. 29. Sign up your child for a fun, hands-on experience at Archaeology Camp being offered by the Museum of Biblical History (www.biblical-museum.org). 30. Help the Collierville Victory Garden with an upcoming Harvest Donation. Learn how you can volunteer today (www.colliervillevictorygarden.org). Is anything missing from our list? Anything that you plan to do this summer that you'd recommend to others? Let us know in the comments section below. The following press release was written by WinShape Camps, an organization which provides a quality camp experience that enables students to sharpen their character, deepen their Christian faith and grow in their relationships with others. Collierville's WinShape Camp is being hosted at Collierville UMC, and the Peace Tree community is helping out by providing meals, volunteering hours, and registering young people. WinShape Camps, the summer camp program started by Chick-fil-A founder, S. Truett Cathy, is coming to Collierville with a one-week day camp experience for children that have completed grades 1st through 9th. This year's camp will be held June 27 through July 1 at Collierville United Methodist Church. Chick-fil-A, Inc. president and CEO, Dan T. Cathy said, “I love WinShape Camps, and I have seen first-hand the immeasurable impact these programs can have on children and their families. It’s an experience that will stay with them long after they return to their homes, churches, schools and communities.” WinShape Camps for Communities boasts 21 different camp skills, including: sports, dance, cooking, gymnastics, leaders in training, painting, arts and crafts, wacky science and much more. Campers enjoy 4 full days (7:45 am – 4:55 PM) of worship, team building, skills training, Bible study and more, and then participate in Chick-fil-A Family Fun Day with their entire family (featuring lunch provided by Chick-fil-A) on Friday! “No matter what the campers like to do,” says Day Camps Director, Gabe Norris, “they’ll be amazed at the fun they will have at WinShape Camps for Communities. There really is something for everyone, and we can’t wait to share ‘the summer of a lifetime’ with your community.” ABOUT WINSHAPE CAMPS: S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, Inc., started WinShape Camps in 1985 with the hopes of creating a camp experience that would offer kids fun, adventure, lasting friendships and a closer relationship with God. Since then, thousands of WinShape campers have enjoyed the amazing programs at WinShape Camps. Today, WinShape Camps offers a variety of camp experiences for boys and girls of all ages, including one-week and two-week overnight camp programs for boys and girls as well as 95 day camps throughout the nation called WinShape Camps for Communities. WinShape Camps for Boys is located in beautiful Mt. Berry, Georgia, with one-week overnight opportunities in Cleveland, Georgia. WinShape Camps for Girls offers one-week overnight camps in Young Harris and Cohutta Springs, Georgia and a two-week overnight experience in Mt. Berry. Visit: www.winshapecamps.org Follow: @winshapecamps Like: www.facebook.com/winshapecamps It’s the Monday after Easter Sunday, and I’m forced to ask, “Now what?” The craziness and busy-ness of Holy Week is behind us. The Maundy Thursday communion services, the Good Friday worship services, and the Holy Saturday egg hunts have all taken place. The capstone of the entire Lenten season, Easter Sunday, has come and gone and left us with memories of packed sanctuaries, massive choirs, full orchestras & praise bands, and stirring sermons which were general enough for the twice-a-year attendee to comprehend yet also specific enough to satisfy the weekly churchgoer who religiously followed the pastor’s 6-week sermon series. So, “Now what?”
It seems as though we’ve treated Easter Sunday as the finish line. Pastors jokingly compare Easter Sunday to their Super Bowl for the year, pulling out all the stops, preaching to the biggest crowd they will most likely see (until Christmas Eve), and encouraging church staff and lay volunteers to put their best foot forward and to do everything with excellence. But, if Easter Sunday is the Super Bowl, then does that mean the season is over? The Easter story was certainly not over for Jesus. Easter Sunday wasn’t a finish line, but instead it was a new beginning, another mile marker in the long story of God’s redemption of this world. Don’t get me wrong, Easter Sunday is certainly a time to celebrate the Risen Christ, but it is also a call to ACTION! So when answering the question, Now what?, perhaps we should take a closer look at what Jesus says to his disciples in the moments following his resurrection. The Gospel of Mark contains Jesus’ words in two alternate endings, but the shorter and longer endings both echo the same sentiment: “And afterwards Jesus himself SENT OUT through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.” (shorter ending). “And he said to them, ‘GO into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.’” (excerpt from the longer ending). Similar wording is seen in the Gospel of Matthew’s closing verses, often referred to as the Great Commission: “GO therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Likewise, the theme of being sent is found in both John and Luke’s gospels: “As the Father has sent me, SO I SEND YOU.” (John 20:21b). “And see, I am SENDING…” (Luke 24:49a) [all emphases are mine]. If the disciples in their shock and confusion, and in their elation and surprise had trouble understanding what came next, Jesus made it clear and simple – “I am SENDING you out into the whole world, so now GO and make disciples!” What shall we do after the resurrection? What happens now? Now, we receive our marching orders. Now, we are commissioned and sent out into the world. Now, we receive our disciple-making assignments. Now, we launch off the starting block of Easter Sunday so that we may continue Jesus’ ministry of love and service. Now, we work together to rebuild God’s family while focusing our eyes on Christ. Every spring, trees produce seed and pollen to be scattered by the wind so that future trees might be reproduced. Likewise, every Easter the Church should produce disciples and Christ-followers to be scattered to the wind to spiritually reproduce and multiply future disciples. We gather on Easter Sunday in order to be scattered by the wind, the same wind that hovered over the waters of Creation, the same breath which the Resurrected Christ breathed out onto his disciples, the same Spirit which drove Jesus into the wilderness after his baptism and which empowers us all in the days following Pentecost. It’s the day after Easter. Now what? Now, we get to work by being the Church, by living together as the Body of Christ, and by loving and serving everyone we meet. Now it’s time to ask ourselves, “With whom shall I share the Good News of Easter morning? Who will I help disciple to faith in Jesus?” May God bless you and send you on mission for Christ, and may you go out into the world with the peace of the Risen Savior. +Peace and Love from Pastor Kris |
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