Blessing Bags

On this episode of The Well we discuss our Blessing Bag ministry with Florence Borman. 

Florence has an incredible heart for all people but especially the unhoused and underserved in our community. She will be back again to discuss other ministries under this umbrella but today is all about Blessing Bags!

Tune in to find out what a Blessing Bag is and how to be on mission on with us!

Thank you for joining us today at The Well. 

It is our prayer this time together will unite our community in action, motivated out of love and activated under a common mission. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Hey, it's Heather. I just wanted to take a minute to remind you I am not a pastor. I have no official title within the church. I am simply a perfectly imperfect human who felt a calling to help share and spread the love and light behind the ministries and outreaches here at First United Methodist Church in Festus, Crystal City. I thank you so much for joining us on today's podcast. Today we are highlighting a newer ministry here at First United Methodist, and it is our blessing bag ministry. This was not a concept that I was previously familiar with. So if you are like me, you might be asking yourself, what in the heck is a blessing bag? So I am so glad to have Florence Borman joining me today to help break this down for us. So hello, Florence. Hi. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 1:43

I'm great. Good to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

I'm glad you're here. I love this. She's going to be a frequent flyer with us. She has a huge heart for the unhoused and underserved. But today we are going to try to keep it to blessing bags, although that's probably going to be hard to do. We might have some teasers for some future episodes coming up. So let's just start with what a blessing bag is, Florence.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

A blessing bag is basically, well, ours are nylon pulsing bags that you can our church members can keep in their cars. If you see someone on the street or you pass someone on the corner and um maybe they're holding up a sign, maybe whatever, you can pull up and hand them the bag, and it has essential items, um, shampoo, deodorant, lotion, bug repellent in the summertime, hats and gloves and scarves. We put a New Testament in there as well lately. We put water in in the women's bags. We have blue bags for men and red bags for women. In the women's bags, we have feminine products and just things that are essential to every day. And they're in the small like travel sizes of things.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

So, like most ministries, it all starts with a member having a heart for a specific cause or group and then finding a way to meet that need. So everybody who joins me on the well is going to be asked this question. So, Florence, where does your heart for the unhoused and underserved come from?

SPEAKER_01 3:20

My heart for anybody that I see comes from my mom. And um, she was always helping people, always doing as much as she could for folks. And it wasn't until her visitation at her funeral that I realized how much she had done for people that I had no idea about whatsoever. And then uh I think it's been about three years ago now, our associate pastor Adam Call said, Florence, you know, the Missouri um conference has these grants. What would you think? Because he knew where my heart was, he said, What would you think about writing a grant for maybe for blessing bags? And I was like, Well, okay. So I did, and we got the grant, and we have gotten three grants now. And to keep the ministry up and running and even growing this year, we were able to add tents and sleeping bags to what what we have on hand for people who might need them.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

That's incredible. That is incredible. And I mean, you showed up at First United Methodist with a heart on fire. You it took you zero time to get up to speed and just start meeting a need that our community desperately needed, met. Again, we're trying to focus on the blessing bags today. So the blessing bags, if you're a member here at First United Methodist Church, or if you ever come and join us in worship, these blessing bags are at the entry. They are on a shelf, and they you are welcome to take one and hand one out. We would love if you do hand one out to share the story with us. And, you know, when you're pulling up to somebody and handing them a bag, say at a stoplight, it's kind of hard to engage in a conversation with someone. But it really is a way to engage and start a conversation with somebody when you happen to see them maybe on a park bench. You want to tell us about the story of your encounter with uh somebody with a blessing bag? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

I was going to the library to renew my library card, and there was a gentleman sitting on the bench outside, and I thought, okay, he had a backpack and I could and a sleeping bag and stuff. And so I um walked up to him and introduced myself and I said, and what's your name? And he told me, and I said, Where are you from? And he said, Utah. And he had come here and and times got tough. And so that I offered him a blessing bag, told him what was in it, and uh he took it. And after that he was in church, he uh uh uh became part of uh of us, I guess is the best way to say that. And now he is back in Utah and he put on Facebook just yesterday or the day before that he had joined the army. Wow. So pretty exciting.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Amen. That is all glory to God. So the beauty of the blessing bag is that it is an opportunity to meet someone right where they are, to meet an immediate need and start a conversation, but it can also lead to so much more. Like you said, inviting them to church, getting to know more about them, helping them get back on track. This life is hard and things come at us so quickly. We like to think that someone experiencing um being unhoused or underserved as something that very often people see it as being brought on by yourself.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Yeah. There's something about you that you did. Yes. And from what I'm hearing and seeing, things one thing starts starts the ball rolling. Yeah. And then especially if you're in a new area and you're not aware of resources, it just gets it can get really bad.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

I mean, I've shared my testimony at church. Uh I found my way back to church because I was trying to find a way to repay my mom for the kindness that she was showing me. I was coming to church with her. And then after church, she would take me to the grocery store and buy me groceries. So I thought I was coming to church for her to feed me. Little did I know I was being fed by the word of God. But I was lucky to have that support system. I mean, I was young and just getting started when the whole economy blew up in 2007, 2008, and my husband and I were both in construction fields. So I can see where circumstances outside of your control can really spiral quickly if you don't have that support system. And the fact of the matter is, most people don't. Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Or sometimes they've burned their bridges. That is very true. But uh very often they're away from family. And sometimes, like with the gentleman we were talking about, it was just a train ticket home between him being unhoused and being home with people he knew and now uh you know having a being in the service. So yeah, just a little blessing bag. Just pulling up and saying hi, looking someone in the eye and asking him their name. And once once someone has a name, it's real, it makes a difference.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

Yeah, it humanizes people. It does. And I think sometimes there is a hesitation. Sometimes that's not always people's comfort zone to I mean, these days, people aren't having conversations on a normal basis. We're texting, we're walking around looking at our phones, we're not really looking up and even seeing what's happening around us. So approaching somebody that we don't know seems overwhelming. But I we will have you and I will get together, we'll put a list on our website at festishumc.org in the media, just some conversation starters. How to approach somebody? What are the questions to ask that promote conversations instead of just yes or no questions?

SPEAKER_01 9:41

And it doesn't have to be a 15-minute conversation, but just so someone knows that you care about them. There's someone in this world who cares about them enough to stop and give them things that they may need is very important.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Absolutely. We all want to be seen. We all want to be seen. Yesterday I was walking into the grocery store and there was a guy who was done with his cart, and I could see him looking around, and I said, You know, you want me to take your cart for you? And he was like, Oh my goodness, that would be so great. Like it doesn't take much. It just takes looking up and seeing what's happening around you, being present in your circumstances. Absolutely. And just sharing love and light. And so when we have these conversations, when you're approaching someone, we want to encourage you to invite them to First United Methodist Church. On Mondays, we have a James II lunch. Uh, Florence can talk a little bit more about that in just a second. And we also want to encourage you to invite them to our church for church services. We have services Saturday night, but on Sunday, we have two services, a 9:30 and an 11. And before and after the 9:30 service, we offer fellowship in the fellowship hall where we have coffee, tea, donuts. You can come warm up, cool down, join us for a message in the sanctuary. We would love to have you here with us. Um, and then the James Two project, which I'm gonna turn Florence loose on. We're gonna have a whole other podcast about this, but I just feel like it's hard to talk about a blessing bag and approaching people and wanting to meet a need without letting them know about this resource that we offer right here every Monday.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Right. The James Two Project offers uh their motto is a meal can change a life. And by having someone here from Compass, by having James 2 who can help with IDs and birth certificates and things like that, someone here from St. Vincent DePaul, those needs can be met and a life can be changed. Um and there is a guide that's put out by Jefferson County, and we can put a copy of that on the web as well. Um that lists all of the resources in the county. What they are, where they are, their contact information, all of that. And I always have that available on Mondays when we have lunch in case somebody wants the big the whole big book. Um but just knowing that someone can go to compass and do their laundry and take a shower. That's huge. Just knowing that First Baptist Church has lunch and showers on Thursdays from one to three is big. Yep. Um, so being aware of what's available and then uh talking about it, it really does make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

It does. And I mean it's as easy as going to our website and just sharing the link. Right. You know, whatever your comfort level is, you can be on mission with us on so many levels with this ministry. We're going to put a list of all of the items included in the blessing bag on our webpage. If you want to start your own blessing bag ministry with a maybe you have a book club, maybe it's just something you and the kids want to do for summer. Um, we'll have that list on there for you to assemble your own blessing bags. We'll also have a link to an Amazon cart where you can be on mission with FUMC and you can just click on the Amazon cart, and those items will be delivered here for assembly in our missions room. Um, there are so many resources, it's impossible to remember, but just knowing that you can go to one page and have access to that is extremely beneficial. I think that helps everybody kind of not be overwhelmed by it all.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Well, and the the more you uh know, the more you learn, if that makes sense. Uh, yesterday we had a gentleman who unhoused and he has just gotten a job, but one of the lenses in his glasses is just uh completely shattered and he needs glasses. And I remembered I I am a Delta Gamma from college days, and we always helped the Lions Club does uh glasses for people. So I start looking where are the lions clubs, I find the one, we call he has to all he has to do is fill out the application and he will get new glasses. So it it's just and now we know that. And it's those kinds of things that are most helpful.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Yeah, and I mean it's so awesome that now you can share that information. People don't have to learn it on their own. Nope. That's huge. I mean, I'm fortunate that if I have a question, I can go to Florence. Not everybody has a Florence sitting next to them, but but now you almost will. We'll have a link with resources. And you know, as we think of new resources, maybe we just add those to them. Sure. We're gonna do so many podcasts with Florence coming up, so we'll continue to keep you updated with different resources that we're learning about in real time. Uh, but it's also a great place for uh you to share, you know, people in the community. If you know of a resource, maybe let us know. Send us an email at media at festusumc.org and we can start promoting that. The whole point of this podcast is to reach people outside of the walls of this church. I mean, we do so many great things here, but the fact of the matter is not everybody is going to walk through the doors of this church or any church, but that doesn't mean we don't have a heart for the same things and we can't unite as a community on mission together. And I think that's powerful. Yes, absolutely. So any closing words, Florence?

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Well, I uh found this. This is by A.A. Milney, who wrote Winnie the Pooh. I love Pooh Bear. But it's got Eeyore on the picture, and it says weeds are flowers too once you get to know them. Oh so a lot of the people that we meet in this ministry, the society sees as weeds, but they they are not. Once you get to know them, they're flowers. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

That is uh so true and so relevant, and anything that Pooh says, I am into. And then I think I will close it with a quote from Jesus. These are red letters, they come to us from Matthew 2540. And the king said unto them, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it to me. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much for joining us, Florence.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Welcome, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Thank you for joining us here for another episode of the Well Podcast. We pray that there has been a message in this for you, that you've connected on some level, that you feel on fire to get out there and share some love and light with people who desperately need it. And we hope that you'll join us again for the next episode.