If any church is living its mandate to minister to “the least of these” it is the Capitol View SDA Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. We held our annual “block party”, which we call Cornfest, on August 11th this year. It was well attended and loved by all who came to visit us in the parking lot of the church.
We had corn, watermelon, and cookies, games for the kids, and community resource and religious literature freely available to all who attended. A fire truck and firemen even arrived, and to the delight of the whole crowd, gave a demonstration of some of their gear and an opportunity to come aboard and sit in the fire truck.
Nestled in the heart of this city, the church is surrounded by a highly diverse population, including many refugees and those who are homeless. Capitol View also offers a free Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day, which is open to and loved by the neighborhood we serve.
Our high attendance for these events is no doubt attributed to the community FoodNet program our church has participated in for a number of years now. Every Sunday afternoon, we offer our church’s basement to the thirty or so volunteers who set up and distribute unwanted food items from grocery stores and restaurants. Anywhere from 100-200 people in the community come for free food here every week.
Capitol View is fortunate to experience the blessing of helping those less fortunate. Our church attendance remains small, but our hearts have grown big with the opportunities we have been given to minister to “the least of these”.
