I know I must sound like a broken record, but it’s true – Coastal I am so blown away by your love, service, and generosity! This past week we partnered with MUSC to provide lunch at the COVID-19 Testing Site & the Pediatric Ambulatory Clinic (about 160 employees). Because we had to use a DHEC certified kitchen, the cost of both meals was around $1600 with a generous tip (obviously a lot more than if we could have done it ourselves). But within days of announcing what we were going to do, several families had generously paid for both meals completely! For tomorrow’s “Grab & Go Meal Drive-Thru” I announced that we are going to do Lasagna, and I needed help cooking them – 92 OF THEM! I got volunteers to cook ALL 92 (don’t forget that they must be brought back to the church on Saturday morning from 8am-10am)!! Janet and I don’t even have to cook any. I could keep going and going. It’s been that way every week for the last 8 weeks of this Pandemic! Keep it up Coastal! The seeds of love that we are planting are going to bear much fruit for years to come and on into eternity!
This Sunday May 10th is MOTHER’S DAY! I’m so excited about Mother’s Day this year! Even though our services will be online, we’re going to go out of our way to make this Mother’s Day special. First of all, we’re kicking off a new series called, “Women of the Word.” Each week for 4 weeks we’re going to be looking at a different woman in the Bible, and the message is going to be delivered by 4 different women here at Coastal. This Sunday, Rachel Speer will be speaking. Even the graphic for the series was done by a woman from our church – Jody Davis. We also have several women sharing their testimony during the series. Spread the word and invite your friends to check us out online!
And then on Mother’s Day afternoon, 3pm-5pm, we’re inviting everyone from Coastal to go on a fun Sunday afternoon ride over to the church for something we’re calling a Mother’s Day Drive Through Celebration! Drive through our parking lot, and all the women of Coastal can pick up a special gift from the church, and then everyone in the car will receive a FREE cup of Baskin Robbins ICE CREAM! We’re also asking our kids & families to decorate a poster (“We love our MOM!” “Happy Mother’s Day!” “Our Mom is the Best” – you get the idea) that will line the drive of our parking lot. Make it a fun project for your family – get creative! Posters must be returned to the church either today by 12noon or tomorrow during the Saturday “Grab & Go Meal Drive-Thru.”
LIFE & LOVE!
Pastor Chris
Here are this week’s “Friday 5”:
- TODAY Friday, May 8th, 8am-2:30pm at the Elks Lodge on Sam Rittenburg Blvd., Coastal is teaming up with the Veteran’s Administration and Soldiers’ Angels to supply local low-Income veteran families with food assistance at the mobile food distribution. Many of Charleston’s veterans rely on the food assistance provided by this event, and without volunteers these veterans would go without. This project can support up to 40-volunteers. Any time that you can volunteer would be great. If you are interested in this event or have any questions, please contact Pastor Chris Jones, 843-870-4613.
- This Saturday, May 9th, 11am-1pm, will be week 8 of our FREE “Grab & Go Meal Drive-Through.” This week we are planning on feeding over 1,000 people in our community LASAGNA, Salad, Breadstick, and dessert – plus a free roll of toilet paper for every family!! If you’re hungry, in need, or know someone who is, we’d love to help! Feel free to pick up a box and deliver it to someone you know. It’s our way to love and serve our community! Help us spread the word! At this point and at this scale, the BIGGEST WAY TO HELP is donating money. You can sponsor a meal by giving on our website: https://coastalcommunitychurch.org/give/ or simply text ANY amount to 843-277-8337 and use the key word “meals” (ex. $100 meals). The Drive Through is also a great opportunity to drop off non-perishable food items for our Community Food Bank.
- Teacher Appreciation Week at Oakland Elementary School is Monday, May 11th – Friday, May 15th. Each year we go over the top to express our love and appreciation to the Teachers and Staff of Oakland. And this year, in a time when they aren’t even expecting it, we want to shower these Teachers with love! We have several special things planned (lunch, breakfast, gift cards, gifts), but one way that you and your family can help is writing handwritten thank you notes. We need 75 of them! You can pick up the note cards at the church, and we need them returned by this Friday, May 8. Another way to help is through your generous giving! All of our community outreach projects (this one included) are funded by your giving. You can give through our website or simply text ANY amount to 843-277-8337.
- Each Wednesday morning, Janet Rollins will be hosting an online Zoom meeting for Coastal Kidz! There will be two 30 minute sessions: 9:00AM – Preschoolers ( 2 yr. olds – Kindergarten). 11:30AM – 1st-5th Graders. Both Groups will participate in a Zoom “PET PARTY” this week! To participate in any of our Coastal Kidz Zoom Connections, please go to https://zoom.us/j/4864196205 just a couple of minutes before your child’s scheduled time to join the meeting. Parents, also don’t forget to take advantage of our Coastal Kidz online services/resources on our website!
- Operation Christmas Child has grown so much at Coastal that it is now a YEARLONG Mission of our church! Each month we will feature a “donation of the month” to help us better prepare for the thousands of boxes we will pack and wrap in the Fall. This month (May) we are encouraging everyone to bring coloring books. Even though our Sunday morning Services are online right now, you can still drop off OCC items during the week at the church. You can even pick up shoeboxes & wrapping paper to start wrapping shoeboxes. If you have any questions, please reach out to Teresa Spell.
P.S. The entire month of June is all about “Summer of IMPACT” at Coastal as we saturate Charleston with a variety of outreach projects. From feeding the hungry, to sewing pillowcases for sick children, to ministering to the homeless – there is a serving opportunity nearly every day of the month! Click on this link: https://coastalcommunitychurch.org/outreach/ to explore all of the different projects that are available this Summer and SIGN UP TODAY!
