photo by Jack Martin

JeanPool Project Exceeds Goal!

My computer’s spell checker shows that I made an error when I typed in JeanPool. If I did, it’s the best mistake ever made. I’m writing to tell you about the JeanPool Project, started and completed by the Disciples congregation in Independence, Missouri.

The Community of Christ congregation focuses on radical hospitality. We help serve dinner at Micah Ministries to more than 500 lower-income and homeless families one Monday a month. We also collect and hand out clothes and blankets. When asked, “What is the most needed clothing?” The answer was, “Jeans, jeans, and more jeans.”

Last winter we set a goal of collecting 500 pairs. We invited others from around the Midland Mission Center to contribute. We went to garage sales and store sales, and we collected gently worn jeans from church and community families. In less than two months we had 603 pairs.

The Disciples congregation generally meets Tuesday evenings and uses an alternative format. The first Tuesday of the month is sacrament worship service. The second is fellowship night, which we call “Table.” Of course, it involves food. The third, “Insight” night, we have knowledgeable facilitators lead discussions on current issues such as peace, justice, politics, the environment, and our Christian response. The fourth Tuesday is our Peaceworks night, when we go as a group to programs like Harvesters food bank and Bridging the Gap to do outreach work. When there is a fifth Tuesday, we invite people into our homes as part of our radical hospitality.

For a description of the outreach programs above and others like it, visit www.PeaceSupport.org.

—Lu Mountenay reporting
worship director, Disciples congregation