Faith in Action - Feeding Families

Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food, if one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
​James 2:15-17

We are blessed that our church Loves First and is a congregation of action. The Feeding Families Fund Drive running throughout the month of November uses your donations to purchase food gift cards. These cards help put food on the table for families that visit our 1st Pres Neighborhood Closet, which is a part of our Community Outreach Committee. Our volunteers make sure that each family that comes to our closet receives a gift card at the end of their shopping experience. During conversations and before a prayer at the end of the shopping experience, a volunteer asks if the 1st Pres congregation can bless them with a gift card to support their family in the purchase of food items. To date our volunteers have given 72 families gift cards and expect by year end we will serve up to 90+ families. Looking toward 2026, we anticipate our numbers to grow as more and more families are finding that their food dollars are not going as far as they previously have. 

Through your action of Love 1st you have blessed so many families. Here are some of the heartwarming stories shared by our volunteers.

*When a recent disaster happened in our community and a restaurant burned down, a mom and her children found themselves in need of outside help for the first time, as she no longer had employment. During the shopping experience, she repeatedly let the volunteers know how grateful she was, saying “Thank you and you have no idea how much this helps my family.” At the end of the visit, the volunteer asked if our congregation could bless her family with a food gift card. She immediately welled up with tears and asked, “Are you sure, you have given us so much already?”
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*Another one of our volunteers recalls several times the impact the gift cards have made for the families. “Humbling, amazing, unexpected are the emotions that many families express. Through tears the families are giving hugs to our volunteers as they repeatedly thank them, while experiencing a sense of relief for the burden they are carrying.”

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As a congregation, we are able to demonstrate our faith, “accompanied by action” as described in James 2:15-17, by giving generously to the Feeding Families Fund. 

Thank you for continuing to support and pray for this part of our Love 1st Mission as it blesses so many families in our community.

​Blessings, 
Gina Dingman & Connie Boni
Co-Chairs, 1st Pres Neighborhood Closet