Maranatha Brethren Church (19835 Scott Hill Dr – off of Jefferson Blvd) has been a faithful supporter of the ministry at the Hope Center throughout the years.

The church has been a part of the monthly chapel services for years. Different Sunday School classes and ministries at Maranatha rotate each month to bring a special service to our residents and guests and then they serve the meal following.

Each month at Maranatha highlights one missionary or missions agency that they support. For January of 2012, Maranatha is focusing on the Hope Center. This gives their congregation a chance to become familiarized with the many programs that take place while also giving us the opportunity to bring our needs to the attention of the church.

As a part of their Hope Center highlight, Maranatha has asked their people to collect sugar and coffee. They’ve also been told about various ways that individuals can help volunteer around the Hope Center.

Lynn (right) prepares to take Tom (left) on his first food pick-up run

We are so pleased to report that after last week’s service, a couple volunteered to do our food pick-ups each Friday! Tom and Debbie will begin driving one of our vans to Longhorn Steakhouse (next to the Premium Outlets) and Food Lion grocery stores to pick up food that these local businesses donate to the Hope Center. Their willingness to help us out in this way is a huge blessing! It relieves Lynn Harney, Foundations staff, from this obligation which will give him more time to work with the residents.

We are so thankful for willing people like Tom & Debbie! And we are thankful for churches like Maranatha Brethren that bring our ministry to the attention of their church family. Many local churches have been so faithful in many ways to this ministry and we are so blessed to be partnered in ministry with so many wonderful churches!

Also, we want to thank Longhorn Steakhouse, Food Lion, Olive Garden, KFC, Red Lobster and Martin’s Food Stores for their support in helping to feed Hagerstown. These local businesses have consistantly donating surplus food to our ministry and we thank them for their generous donations each week. Please support these businesses to reward their generosity.

If you would like to join the ranks of people like Tom & Debbie and begin volunteering, please call our office at 301.739.1165 or email us at hagerstownrescue@verizon.net. Also, you can go ahead and fill out a volunteer application on our website. Just go to www.hagerstownrescue.org and click on the ‘get involved’ tab followed by the ‘volunteer application’ tab. There are many different ways that you can get plugged into helping people.

Thanks again to all the people, churches, groups and businesses that help us bring hope to those in need!