Observations©

By Donald S. Conkey

Date: April 23, 2009 - # 9917 - Title: Find a place to serve this week (819)

Anciently, a righteous king, while addressing his subjects told them: “When you are in the service of your follow man you are only in the service of your God.” Growing up during the great depression I saw this principle of service in action almost every day. The need for service to one’s fellow man was great during that difficult time and it continues to be great during our current difficult times, even here in Cherokee County, a county many see as an affluent community. Every community, no matter how affluent, needs help.

            For nearly fifty years I have searched out and recorded my family back to the early 1600s. I have traveled, vicariously, with them across the Atlantic, down the St Lawrence River, around Niagara Falls and through forests filled with wolves as they struggled to find economic and religious freedoms. And every step of the way they were in need of service from neighbors or fellow travelers as they packed their belongings for their six week boat ride or in building their one room log cabin is the woods, sometimes with only a blanket over the door to separate them from the howling wolves near by.

            Those howling wolves, while not four-legged today, are still near by. In our community they are the wolves of hunger, loneliness, adequate shelter, and the need for spiritual uplifting that continue to howl in the lives of many amongst us in our affluent communities. Unknown to most of us, including me, this week is a week established to let everyone obtain that feeling of self-worth that one can only obtain while “in the service of their fellow man.”

In conjunction with National Volunteer Week and National Youth Services Week Governor Perdue recently signed a proclamation titled “Helping Hands” to kick off this weeks service projects. Joining these organizations for one day of service this week will be an eleven state region of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, under the supervision of Elder Walter F. Gonzalez, with their “One Day. Thousands of Volunteers Changing One Community and One Life at a Time” program. Gonzalez is expecting 30,000 volunteers to team up with other local civic and religious organizations in his eleven state area to provide tens of thousands of hours of service to their needy neighbors: men, women and children – of all ages.    

Here in Cherokee County 400 members of four Cherokee County LDS congregations, under the direction of Marietta East Stake president Gary Futral, are expected to volunteer to serve four local organizations: Must Ministries in Canton where they will help clean and restock the pantry; Bethany Place on East Cherokee Drive where volunteers will be assigned by Sandra Reed to do in ‘One Day’ what it might take her   a month to accomplish; and, working with Brion Moore, Director of the National Cemeteries in Marietta and Canton, will help clean up one cemetery; and in Woodstock volunteers will help clean up the downtown area. Coordinating the Cherokee ‘One Day’ service project is Pat Wilder. Anyone who would like to be involved in this ‘One Day’ local service project can contact Pat at her e-mail, Pat@PatWilder.com

One of the first service projects I participated in after moving to Cherokee County in 1995 was at Bethany Place. Our congregation turned out to help clean up and haul off several truck loads of junk to make room for additional rooms to house a few of the over 1500 women and children Bethany Place has so faithfully served since Michael and Sandra Reed opened its doors to single women and unwed mothers in 1988. And almost every year since then our congregation has adopted Bethany Place at Christmas time providing much needed gifts to needy women and children. The Reeds truly are in the service of their God.

Over the years Joan and I have visited with Sandra at Bethany Place and observed her work in action. It is an amazing work but it is always in need of outside help. Their service is dependent upon the free will contributions of outsiders and is sustained by their faith in God. Their faith has been justified now for over 20 years. Their stirring mission statement reads: “Bethany Place is a non-profit transitional home for single women and unwed mothers who desire to break the cycle of their past and to heal the wounds of fear and low self worth. Through education, a positive home atmosphere, discipline and responsibility, it is the focus of Bethany Place to educate such women to become productive, secure and financially stable members of society through hard work, dedication and determination.”

Get involved – serve others and find that inner peace and self-worth so many are so desperately searching for. As one provides service to others he/she soon realize there are many others whose needs are far greater than theirs. Selfless service brings peace to one’s inner soul. Find a place to serve this week.