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Clyde Beal: Chesapeake churches unite in support of less fortunate
Members of the Chesapeake United Methodist Church, from left, Shirley Keithy, the Rev. Daryl Fourman, Betty Brenner, Don Moore and Alice Moore pose for a photo.
Purchase this photoThere's a familiar children's book called "The Little Engine That Could." It's a book often credited with teaching children the value of hard work and positive thinking. Some scholars might even suggest that the book is a metaphor for success. That book could well illustrate the hard work and years of dedication that grew from "I think I can" beginning, to a multi-denominational group of churches with a success story that has indeed reached the top of the mountain and beyond.
The story began in 1985 when a few members of Chesapeake United Methodist Church, located at 501 2nd Ave., decided to do something for the poor families in their town. Don and Alice Moore were involved with this endeavor right from its conception.
"We had no room in our small church to store food and clothing, so we found some space in a part of Chesapeake City Hall," said Don. "As the need increased, other churches became involved. Eventually, we just outgrew City Hall."
Now located in a section of the old Chesapeake Middle School at 3748 Ohio 7, the Community Mission Outreach (CMO) program is now supported by a total of 13 area churches.
"All our workers here are volunteers," said Pastor Daryl Fourman. "No one receives any compensation for the work they do. We have volunteers from each of our member churches who take turns at operating the CMO. They are a group of loving people who give of their time and talents to help the families in need of Lawrence County Ohio."
And help they do. According to records kept by Alice Moore, last year the CMO assisted more than 3,300 needy families with food that amounted to nearly 9,000 individuals. According to Alice Moore, "There are nearly 1,000 families right in this immediate area who depend on us to help them feed their children."
The CMO depends on contributions from churches, organizations, companies and individuals to purchase food. Because of rising prices, many families are in need of help. Contributions to help carry out this work are always appreciated and may be made by calling the CMO center at 740-867-6628 or The Chesapeake United Methodist Church at 740-867-3848.
Betty Brenner has been volunteering with the CMO program for more than 20 years and feels like she is doing God's work. "The good Lord asked us to help those in need, when we are helping people who are less fortunate, we are helping the Lord," Said Brenner, who is a member of Chesapeake United Methodist Church. Shirley Keith has been helping out for 5 years, "Seeing the amount of families who need help, it makes what we do here so important. We have so many good hard working volunteers who make this effort a success," said Keith.
One of their biggest fundraisers is the annual Thanksgiving community service that has become so well attended that it was moved to the Chesapeake Middle School auditorium. The event is held each November, and according to Pastor Fourman, is a shinning example of God's work in action. It is attended by area churches who support the CMO program.
The CMO is open for distribution of food and clothing the last 15 days of each month with the exception of December. Hours of operation during those days are: 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m. to noon Thursdays and Saturdays. Families are eligible to receive food once a month. If your situation is of an emergency nature, call the CMO center.
Last Christmas, the CMO program provided more than 500 area families with well stocked food baskets of fruit, meat, can goods, and perishable items. Toys were also given to those families with children.
Just like the positive attitude within the Little Engine who believed that the mountain top could be reached, this group shows that feeding God's sheep can be done on a large scale with the right attitude.
Clyde Beal is a freelance writer living in the Huntington area.
