Church hospitality communicates God's love
Communicating God's Love
Object:
First United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City is directly across the street from the
Oklahoma City National Memorial, which marks the spot where 168 people were killed
and more than 800 were injured on April 19, 1995, when Timothy McVeigh detonated a
homemade bomb in front of the eight-story Murrah Federal building.
Seven years ago, the Oklahoma City Memorial marathon was launched and it's been held every year since on the Sunday nearest the anniversary of the bombing.
The 26.9-mile race starts and ends in the street between the Oklahoma City National Memorial and First UMC.
Since runners and well-wishers begin gathering by 5:30 the morning of the race and many don't leave until the last runner comes in after lunch, access to the church is blocked.
Stan Cosby, the church's senior pastor, says during the first year of the marathon First UMC tried to have a Sunday morning service, but few people came because of the large crowd and traffic problems around the church.
One year the church moved the Sunday morning services up to Saturday night, but attendance was poor. They have continued to meet on Saturday, but they have not been able to build attendance.
An idea that came to the pastor in 2005 has turned the marathon into an opportunity for ministry instead of an obstacle.
"Every year, some of us have come down to the church early to greet people and share in the celebration," Cosby says. "Right after the race started year before last, when I was on our parking lot, I saw hundreds of people walking toward their hotels five or six blocks away for breakfast and coffee and restrooms. Some would try our church doors, and see they were locked."
Cosby says, "Something clicked in a sobering way" and he suddenly realized that the church was losing an opportunity to provide hospitality for people at a time when they needed it.
"Hospitality," he explains, "happens when we make space for people to become friends. I kept thinking that we had plenty of space in our wonderful building and instead of locking it up, we could open it up for people to come in, freshen up, relax, eat a good warm meal, and visit with one another."
Cosby shared his idea with his congregation. He told them there are different ways to do a service. One way is to hold a service. But holding a service on the day of the marathon hadn't work well. Another way, he told them, is to simply serve the people who were outside the church.
The congregation caught their pastor's vision and started exploring ways to "simply serve" the crowd on marathon Sunday.
First UMC has been a strong supporter and partner of the Oklahoma City National Memorial ever since it was in the planning stages. The church frequently provides space for large meetings. The pastor and lay people provide key leadership. When Cosby shared his idea with the memorial leaders, they not only endorsed it, they agreed to provide the ingredients for the free breakfast the church planned to serve.
The morning of the 2006 marathon, the doors of First UMC were wide open, and people were invited to come inside for free pancakes, sausage, and a variety of drinks and other refreshments. Restrooms were available.
"About 400 people ate breakfast with us last year," says Cosby. "We knew we were meeting a need, and decided to expand our ministry for the 2007 marathon."
More than 14,000 runners from 49 states and five foreign countries took part in the five race events during this year's marathon, held Sunday, April 29.
First United Methodist people were ready hours before the marathon began. Two hundred volunteers, all wearing purple shirts, were at their posts. About 120 of them were assigned to work inside the church, cooking, serving, and extending hospitality. Eighty others were assigned to work outside the building, greeting people, leading children's activities, and assisting with other ministries.
"About thirty of us spent the night at the church," says Cosby. "We tried to sleep a little, but by 3:30 we were busy getting everything ready to serve breakfast. By 5:30, some people started drifting in, but the big crowd came right after the marathon started at 6:30. At one point, we had people lined up for half the length of a football field."
The church served 900 plates of pancakes. Several hundred people stopped by for coffee and other refreshments, and the restrooms were very popular. Church officials estimate that at least 1,900 people, counting volunteers, were in the church Sunday morning.
"As I walked around the church, I saw literally hundreds and hundreds of people," says Cosby. "Some were picking up literature off our welcome desk, some were looking at our displays and our pictures. Some were stopping in the sanctuary for prayer. It made me think: 'This is what church is all about.' "
Cosby says First UMC was a bombing survivor. "We were damaged, but not destroyed. God still reigns and we are still here."
He says the hospitality First UMC offered the Sunday of the marathon was a way of saying thanks to God and to God's people for helping turn obstacles into opportunities for ministry. It was a way to communicate God's love by caring and sharing.
Seven years ago, the Oklahoma City Memorial marathon was launched and it's been held every year since on the Sunday nearest the anniversary of the bombing.
The 26.9-mile race starts and ends in the street between the Oklahoma City National Memorial and First UMC.
Since runners and well-wishers begin gathering by 5:30 the morning of the race and many don't leave until the last runner comes in after lunch, access to the church is blocked.
Stan Cosby, the church's senior pastor, says during the first year of the marathon First UMC tried to have a Sunday morning service, but few people came because of the large crowd and traffic problems around the church.
One year the church moved the Sunday morning services up to Saturday night, but attendance was poor. They have continued to meet on Saturday, but they have not been able to build attendance.
An idea that came to the pastor in 2005 has turned the marathon into an opportunity for ministry instead of an obstacle.
"Every year, some of us have come down to the church early to greet people and share in the celebration," Cosby says. "Right after the race started year before last, when I was on our parking lot, I saw hundreds of people walking toward their hotels five or six blocks away for breakfast and coffee and restrooms. Some would try our church doors, and see they were locked."
Cosby says, "Something clicked in a sobering way" and he suddenly realized that the church was losing an opportunity to provide hospitality for people at a time when they needed it.
"Hospitality," he explains, "happens when we make space for people to become friends. I kept thinking that we had plenty of space in our wonderful building and instead of locking it up, we could open it up for people to come in, freshen up, relax, eat a good warm meal, and visit with one another."
Cosby shared his idea with his congregation. He told them there are different ways to do a service. One way is to hold a service. But holding a service on the day of the marathon hadn't work well. Another way, he told them, is to simply serve the people who were outside the church.
The congregation caught their pastor's vision and started exploring ways to "simply serve" the crowd on marathon Sunday.
First UMC has been a strong supporter and partner of the Oklahoma City National Memorial ever since it was in the planning stages. The church frequently provides space for large meetings. The pastor and lay people provide key leadership. When Cosby shared his idea with the memorial leaders, they not only endorsed it, they agreed to provide the ingredients for the free breakfast the church planned to serve.
The morning of the 2006 marathon, the doors of First UMC were wide open, and people were invited to come inside for free pancakes, sausage, and a variety of drinks and other refreshments. Restrooms were available.
"About 400 people ate breakfast with us last year," says Cosby. "We knew we were meeting a need, and decided to expand our ministry for the 2007 marathon."
More than 14,000 runners from 49 states and five foreign countries took part in the five race events during this year's marathon, held Sunday, April 29.
First United Methodist people were ready hours before the marathon began. Two hundred volunteers, all wearing purple shirts, were at their posts. About 120 of them were assigned to work inside the church, cooking, serving, and extending hospitality. Eighty others were assigned to work outside the building, greeting people, leading children's activities, and assisting with other ministries.
"About thirty of us spent the night at the church," says Cosby. "We tried to sleep a little, but by 3:30 we were busy getting everything ready to serve breakfast. By 5:30, some people started drifting in, but the big crowd came right after the marathon started at 6:30. At one point, we had people lined up for half the length of a football field."
The church served 900 plates of pancakes. Several hundred people stopped by for coffee and other refreshments, and the restrooms were very popular. Church officials estimate that at least 1,900 people, counting volunteers, were in the church Sunday morning.
"As I walked around the church, I saw literally hundreds and hundreds of people," says Cosby. "Some were picking up literature off our welcome desk, some were looking at our displays and our pictures. Some were stopping in the sanctuary for prayer. It made me think: 'This is what church is all about.' "
Cosby says First UMC was a bombing survivor. "We were damaged, but not destroyed. God still reigns and we are still here."
He says the hospitality First UMC offered the Sunday of the marathon was a way of saying thanks to God and to God's people for helping turn obstacles into opportunities for ministry. It was a way to communicate God's love by caring and sharing.
