Nearly every week Pastor Doug leads us in asking God to, “have Thine own way Lord, have Thine own way. You are the Potter, I am the clay.”
This year we will be carrying out these words based on the Potter’s
House in Jeremiah 18 with an all new curriculum written by Pastor Cathy. Youth and adults alike will join together to study Scripture, live within deep thought provoking questions, and experience worship – including a praying with clay worship experience led by Andrea Slone. Summer Impact 2015 is sure to soften and mold hearts, both ours and those we serve, in a very memorable way.
The Summer Impact program at Hyde Park Community UMC in Cincinnati is a program set up to invite youth from all over the country to come join us in making an impact on those living in poverty and homelessness in Cincinnati. Appropriately named, Summer Impact offers six week-long experiences that immerse both ourselves and our friends in building relationships that will leave an impact on the hearts and minds of all involved. Following a pattern of Bible Study, Service, and Celebration, each day has a heartbeat of its own while still having a connecting thread to the week’s events. We work alongside nine city ministry partners ministering to children in a camp setting or literacy setting, adults recovering from sickness while experiencing homelessness, alongside a furniture bank distributing furniture to families who have just obtained permanent housing, as well as many other partners and experiences. Throughout the week we have the opportunity to work with ministry partners and take part in a full range of experiences with them. In the evenings we will gather back together and celebrate all that God has done, is doing and will do in and through us via worship and sharing.
A team of five interns will lead Summer Impact this summer, but we need your help! We have the “experts” in place, but as with any ministry of the church, this can’t be a solo endeavor. Whether you have a heart for missions and serving in the inner city or you just love to sit and have a deep conversation with someone else, whether you love to work with your hands or love conversation over good food, we have a place for you in our mission to provide these opportunities for service in the city as well as inner growth and discipline in the faith.
For more information on this year’s Summer Impact, contact Sarah Putman at 979 8162 or sputman@hpcumc.org or visit our website at www.hydeparkchurch.org/summer-impact. Keep your eyes out for future opportunities for specific ways you can connect and make a Summer Impact!
Sarah Putman