The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Dear Editor:
I know as Christians we are to go about doing God's work in silence. However, I also feel in my heart that those who do good, should be acknowledged. So I am following my heart.
The congregation and Pastor of the Carman Methodist church need to be acknowledged for their generous hearts.
In October Pastor Gene Tuner challenged the congregation for each month for the next (3) months to donate his weight in canned goods and non-perishables to the food pantries.
This challenge was the brain child of Pastor Gene and Ron Bowlyou, a member of the Carman congregation.
Ron would be responsible for weighing the "take" each week and distributing it between the Lomax and Gladstone (Health Department) pantries.
The first week the canned goods and monetary donations began pouring in. It was decided that each $1.00 given would be counted as 1 lb.
The congregation is a poor judge of weight or perhaps the Pastor should be insulted as to how much they think he weighs.
To date not quite 4 months after the challenge was made; Carman M.E. church has collected nearly 2 tons of food stuffs.
I am a member of the church but have done only a small portion in meeting the Pastors challenge. It took the whole church working as "the body of Christ to achieve this task.
I also work at the Henderson County Health Department and see first hand the need for the food pantry program in our county. The Health Department provides a place for that service to be carried out. It is the generosity of the people in the county like Carman Methodist church that make it a reality.
The Health Department provides many services to the people in Henderson County that go unnoticed, but that's another letter.
God Bless,
Wynona E. Anderson
STRONGHURST
Dear Editor:
I have said it before and I will say it again, Henderson County is made up of some of the most generous and giving folks you'll find anywhere.
Each year as the holiday's approach I start worrying about the Health Department food pantry and if we will be able to meet the needs of each person that comes in. It's our goal to make sure each family has a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving and a ham dinner for Christmas with all the fixings and some extra's.
At the end of October we had very little money in our fund and not much food in the pantry. For Thanksgiving and Christmas we were able to provide a holiday meal and extra's for over 78 families in the county. This was made possible by some very generous donations of food and monetary donations by many churches, organizations, the school, businesses and individuals.
I wish I could share with you all the smiles and thank you's that we receive each month from food pantry participants. We appreciate your giving us the opportunity to help others because of your generosity.
If you are in need of food our pantry is open on Monday's from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and on Thursday's from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. If you would like more information about this program or would like to make a donation, please call us at 309-627-2812.
Sincerely,
Gloria Short,
MEDIA
Program Manager
HENDERSON CO. HEALTH DEPT.