Corpus Christi UMs inviting animals, humans

By Rachel L. Toalson
Staff Writer
On the Saturday before this year’s Bring a Friend Sunday, five Corpus Christi congregations are asking people to bring furry or feathered friends to church.
First UMC, St. Luke’s UMC, St. John’s UMC, As-bury UMC and Grace UMC are working with veterinarians to offer free pet wellness exams March 8.
“The idea was to increase the profile of the local congregations in the community,” said Associate Pastor Steve Fieldcamp of First UMC. “We wanted to offer this as a way to meet the members of the community who may not be members of our churches.”
The event precedes Bring a Friend Sunday March 9. That’s the third of three annual Southwest Texas Conference outreach efforts done between September and Easter in conjunction with the denominationwide Igniting Ministry’s hospitality and image campaign.
Bring a Friend Sunday is the Lenten version of Home for Christmas. It encourages churches to focus on reaching new people for Christ by using a special hospitality Sunday during Lent. The recommended day is the Sunday before Palm Sunday, but congregations may designate any Sunday Bring a Friend Sunday.
Fieldcamp said First UMC, Corpus Christi, would do Bring a Friend Sunday March 16.
Last year the 2,392-member congregation fenced the church’s yard along Shoreline Boulevard to provide a petting zoo and pony rides, Fieldcamp said.
“It’s important,” Fieldcamp said of staging special hospitality events. “It’s a great way to let the community come see who we are and what we do.”
Jeanie Brink, outreach chair for St. Luke’s UMC, Corpus Christi, said she, Virginia Hopkins, Marty Parr and many others were organizing the congrega-tion’s Bring a Friend Sunday activities—which start with a prayer vigil.
The vigil is planned for March 7, World Day of Prayer, from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.
“We always start outreach with prayer,” Brink said. “We can’t do anything, but God can do everything.”
St. Luke’s is mailing postcards to visitors who came during Open House Month in September and Home for Christmas in December, Brink said. The cards let people know about the church’s Easter activities.
Members of St. Luke’s plan to visit the strip mall across from the church Feb. 14 to give boxes of chocolates to employees, she said. Each box includes an informational card about the church.
The Igniting Ministry campaign efforts have had an impact on St. Luke’s, Brink said.
In September during Open House Month the church offered a special Sunday program honoring the military, she noted. One military family showed up when some family members saw the church while driving around.
Since then, the couple has joined the congregation and had their baby baptized, Brink said.
The emphasis on outreach efforts has opened the hearts of many church members, she said.
“For Methodists as a whole, and certainly for our church, you kind of have to get educated on how to do it,” Brink said. “It takes breaking habits and breaking into uncomfortable areas. I think our church is becoming more open to outreach.”