In a conversation with religious leaders trying to entrap Jesus into giving the wrong answer, they asked him what the greatest commandment was. Without hesitation, Jesus said, “To love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
As followers of Jesus, we know that the tangible expression of our faith in Jesus is to live as He lived and to love as He loves. But with so many needs in this world, it isn't easy to know where to begin or what to do. The magnitude of the needs can immobilize us from not doing anything at all.
Sometimes, the most profound act of love is not in grand gestures but in the quiet and consistent moments to be the presence of Jesus with others.
One of the ways UBC has been serving out of love in quiet and consistency is through our partnership with Highland Elementary School. For decades, members of UBC have invested time, resources, and presence among the students, their families, and faculty of the school.
As a new school year dawns, we are stepping forward to collaborate with the school in several ways.
First, throughout the year, we will collect items for Care Packages for each faculty member. Second, we are recruiting participants for the school’s Reading Friends program, in which volunteers can share 30-minutes with an individual student either online or in person. Third, we will provide families in need of a Thanksgiving meal kit to prepare at home. Fourth, we will wrap new books for each student in December. Finally, we will provide space for the school to celebrate the graduation of Pre-K and 5th graders at the end of the school year.
As we boldly step forward in this new school year, we build off the legacy of the many hours and resources that UBC members have poured into this partnership, knowing that their excellent work has paved the way for our present and future relationship with Highland Elementary.
I hope that you, along with your Sunday School and Spiritual Formation group, will consider collaborating with us in these tangible ways to love our neighbors. You can find more information about these opportunities in the Window and on the website.