By Navar Watson
Serve Noblesville held their third annual week of service June 25 through 29, and churches and organizations all gathered with one goal in mind – to “connect compassionate neighbors.”
“I think most people think that they are compassionate, but it’s often difficult to find avenues to (show that),” said Patrick Propst, lead pastor at Faith Community Church. “We’re kind of creating the environment where people can express their compassion.”
Volunteers expressed this compassion by befriending their fellow volunteers and hearing the stories of the people they served, he said.
Serve Noblesville changed its days from Monday through Friday to Wednesday through Saturday this year, Propst said, in hopes of getting more volunteers on the weekend. They had lower numbers last year because many of the churches had previous commitments the same week.
This year, Serve Noblesville had 167 volunteers on Wednesday and 142 on Thursday, collecting more than 2,000 volunteer hours in two days.
One of the program’s partners, Vision Noblesville, works to increase volunteerism in the city. Manager Cindy Benedict said efforts like Serve Noblesville are “great because they have opportunities for the entire family to volunteer.”
Those who couldn’t do the more physical volunteer activities stayed at the fairgrounds and helped with “Crafts with a Cause,” Benedict said. Here they sewed, crocheted or did non-sewing crafts that went to help people in the community and outside the U.S.
This year, they made T-shirt dresses and baby blankets for Panama, fleece blankets for veterans and nursing home patients, and yarn squares for the charity Warm Up America.
Other activities included roofing people’s houses, staining a fence outside the Noblesville United Soccer Field, running a Kid’s Day Camp and collecting and organizing items for a Community Giveaway on June 28.
Serve Noblesville also gives churches of different denominations a chance to work together, Propst said, despite conflicting theologies.
“Serve Noblesville is an opportunity,” he said, “to see that the churches in the community are more interested in focusing on the things that we agree upon as opposed to focusing on the things that we don’t agree upon.”
To end the week, Serve Noblesville hosted a celebration for all who volunteered. The celebration occurred at Forest Park on June 29, dinner included. The park pool also was open.
The celebration, Propst said, gave people the chance to socialize with friends they made during the week – this time without the work.
“It’s not just about going and working and sweating,” he said. “It’s really about building relationships with your neighbor and the people that are in your community.”
