by Amanda Smith
Ingathering is a day of celebration & a time to collect mission projects of the United Methodist Church. On October 19th the United Women of Faith (UWF) gathered a group of ten multigenerational members to assemble school kits. In just one hour using our organizational skills in an assembly line from unwrapping, counting each item, arranging a variety of colors, double checking the items & wrapping each kit.
A special blessing of thanks to the congregation for your generosity in doing God's work with your donations for this year's collection of school supplies. Thanks to each of the over 1040 items collected in donations this year, in addition to the 78 items left from 2024, UWF were able to increase our backpack donations by a dozen each year for the last 3 years! We assembled 60 kits this year & we have donations left to start the 2026 collection too! That's $600 of the Lord's love we are able to lavish on so many students for the Ingathering in addition to our donation to local Longfellow students.
UWF will be taking the backpack kits to Ingathering in Greenfield, Iowa on Saturday, November 1 so they can be taken to Midwest Mission in Jefferson, Iowa before being distributed.
The kits were blessed in worship on Sunday, October 26, 2025. As those in worship stretched their hands toward the kits, Pastor Brian prayed this prayer:
God,
We ask that you take these simple gifts, these small reminders of our love and commitment to your children - all your children - in our community and beyond. May they go to the places they are needed as school supplies. And, may they go to communities where there are those who need reminding that they are not alone and not forgotten or left behind. May they be a connection between us and your people whom we do not see and yet we know that you see. We ask that you give us eyes to see until that day when we are all gathered around your Heavenly banquet table and share your abundance. We ask all this in the name of your son, Jesus.
Amen