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This page has reprints of news articles about the Gibsonville United Methodist Church and its people.

This is the text of an article published February 21, 2010 issue of the Rock Creek Record of the Greensboro News and Record serving Gibsonville.

By Jamie Kennedy Jones, Staff Writer

Church using Lent to raise funds for Haiti

GIBSONVILLE -At a time of year when many Christians practice fasting or some other form of self-denial, the congregation of one local church is trying to help Haitians at the same time.

During the six weeks of Lent, members of Gibsonville United Methodist Church are raising funds to buy meals for earthquake victims, and they're challenging other people to try it, too.

Church members will try to put aside $1 a day during Lent - or the amount of money they'd spend on the soda, sweets, alcohol or other indulgences they've given up. Thee church will collect the money and use it to buy meals through Stop Hunger Now.

On May 1, the church will organize an assembly line and pack 10,000 rice-based meals and ship them to Haiti.

"All people have to do is add hot water and they have a nutritious meal," said the Rev. Jonathan Marlowe, pastor.

"We're practicing Lenten spiritual discipline, but we're not just doing it for ourselves," Marlowe said. "We're doing it for other people."

Some people fast during Lent, such as skipping lunch on Fridays, instead of giving up something in particular.

"You might experience hunger, but just enough hunger to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ in Haiti who are hungry every day, not just once a week," Marlowe said.

Gibsonville UMC puts a lot of emphasis on mission work. Earlier this winter, the church sent 50 health kits filled with washcloths and toiletries to Haiti. It's still collecting those items.

Gibsonville resident Phyllis Stephenson, who leads the - church's mission committee, said the Stop Hunger Now project is a chance "to reach out not just in our community but across the world."

If 50 people put aside $1 a day during Lent, the church will have the funds to purchase and ship the meals.

"We're real excited," she said. "It's also a challenge to us."

The church is hoping that it will be able to send more than 10,000 meals, and that other churches or businesses might set up their own Stop Hunger Now project. The church is welcoming volunteers for the May 1 event.

For information, go to www.stophungernow.org. Contact the church at 449-4810.

Contact Jamie Kennedy Jones at jamie.kennedy@news-record.com or 373-7088.

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Last modified: March 03, 2010