Stepping Into Opportunity
I love niceSERVE. The care and planning that goes into pulling off this church-wide day of service makes an otherwise ordinary Saturday morning feel special.
Our team spends weeks curating projects, buying hot dogs, and collecting supplies to create an environment that allows our congregation to serve our city and celebrate together. I’ve helped behind the scenes with niceSERVE many times over the years and each one has a special place in my heart and countless memorable moments. However, the niceSERVE event that we had last weekend felt extra special to me due to one project that was unlike one we’ve ever attempted. We got to see 30 Summit families host a “trunk-or-treat” in the church parking lot for foster families who are associated with Commission127.
A few years ago, we decided as a church that we were going to intentionally invest in the systems and structures that support vulnerable children in our city. As a result of that choice, Summit dove into foster advocacy and have been partnering with Commission127 (an organization that equips churches to support local foster and adoptive families) ever since. Locked arm-in-arm we decided to host this Fall Fun Trunk-or-Treat for all of the families that Commission127 (and Summit!) support. Planning this event felt new, exciting, and just a little bit nerve wracking since we didn’t know how many Summit families would sign up to create trunks or how many foster families would show up to participate. But all our fears went out the window when the church parking lot filled up with Summit families unloading decorations, games, and treats from their cars. It transformed from an empty parking lot to a sea of Anna’s and Elsa’s, a taco stand, and even a pirate ship ready to create some fun for other families.
While the trunk-or-treat was in full swing, I walked around and watched Summit families dressed in either costume or niceSERVE shirts spend time with our foster families by leading games and passing out treats. I got to see our littlest congregants express joy giving out candy and prizes to other kids instead of receiving it themselves. I loved hearing parents say to me “I can’t believe our kids are giving away candy they would rather have themselves!” or “are we doing this again next year??”. Interactions like this remind me that every detail that goes into planning niceSERVE creates space in our lives for God to show up in big ways for our church family.
In an event full of noteworthy moments, my favorite of every niceSERVE is always during the middle of the morning while folks are deep in the work of their projects and our staff team takes some time to just be together. We stop for a minute, take a deep breath, and look around at what God is doing through the people of Summit who decided to spend their Saturday morning with us. We stood together and I could feel the buzz of activity as kids ran around with bags full of candy. I could hear the sizzle of hot dogs on the grill and the sound of light-hearted conversation while folks rolled out tables and chairs for lunch. We saw reGROUP (our recovery ministry) volunteers sprucing up their volunteer room in the Student Ministries Space and Heidi Armstrong (our Foster and Adoption Ambassador) greeting foster families as Glinda the Good Witch.
After our moment of reflection and watching niceSERVE unfold around us, it was time to get into gear for folks to return from their projects around the city and serve up those hundreds of hot dogs. Cars turned back into the parking lot and supplies were dropped off. I got to hear stories and standout moments from the morning’s work. Friends from my Connect group came back with red and black paint on their hands from their painting project at Colonial High School. Another group came back soapy from cleaning buses at Orlando Children’s Church. I heard tales of trees being planted with GreenUp Orlando. People ate lunch and lounged on the grass, at tables, and under any shade they could find. It was a warm, clear Saturday morning filled with stories and connections that now live in our collective memory because we created them together!
niceSERVE is one of my favorite things we do at Summit because it so beautifully blends two things I am passionate about—service and connection. Watching people make friends and form new relationships because they happened to sign up for the same project is one of the great joys of my job. In the midst of a busy fall season, I know that it can be easy to get swept up in the details and tedium of our regular routines. Driving kids to sports games, making dinner, going to work, attending weddings, and all of those things that make up the fabric of our lives are wonderful. But sometimes they keep us from focusing on what matters most. In the midst of our everyday lives we can miss the small, sweet moments that remind us of our connection to one another and our connection to God as we live in his creation. niceSERVE invites us to take a step out of our regular routines and step into an opportunity to see what God is up to in and around our city.
Ashyln Murphy is the Orlando Connect and Mobilization Coordinator and gets to help folks serve and get connected around Summit. Did you know she once threw a surprise party for her own birthday? Iconic. Feel free to reach out to her if you have any questions about serving locally or getting into a Connect group!