For the past four years, Rapid City Canyon Lake UMC has held an event called Many Hands.  The event has been the all-church annual hands-on event supporting both local missions and UMCOR.

Photo: Keeping clothes clean is tough when you’re homeless. HOPE Center, a drop-in day center serving Rapid City’s homeless population, has washers and dryers, Pre-measured packets keep soap from being wasted and machines from being clogged. A generous Sudsy Sunday offering bought bulk detergent. Saturday evening’s sneezing and laughing volunteers made 619 laundry soap packets. Photo courtesy of Rapid City Canyon Lake UMC.

Each year the mission team sets new goals. Missions chair Carol Dormann and her committee set goals even higher and designed a fresh approach for the 2016 event. They decided to spread the fund-raising for supplies over a number of months to keep excitement high.

Members and friends of Canyon Lake UMC hit their annual Many Hands—One Spirit mission project goals out of the park. Five specialized opportunities to donate raised over $6000.

Mission Committee members had set goals for UMCOR health and school kits but challenged Canyon Lake members and friends go beyond expectations.  Morning Glories Circle engaged the whole congregation in their goal of 25 layettes for UMCOR.

Using fund-raising themes of Smiley Sunday, Smarty Sunday and Stinky Sunday to generate enthusiastic giving during July, savvy shoppers were able to buy heaps of supplies. Volunteers of all ages assembled 370 school kits and 304 health kits in just a few hours before the Many Hands event.

With the Crow Peak fire blazing away in late June, former volunteer firefighter Don Springhetti told how important the Red Cross comfort kits were to firefighters on the lines. Ushers passed Don’s firefighter boots, netting $1560. In 2015, the congregation packed 25 kits, but this year 100 kits will be delivered to Black Hills Area Red Cross. Good timing!

Finding creative ways to help agencies that serve Rapid City’s homeless and hungry populations is important to Canyon Lake UMC. Canyon Lake pioneered the popular soup packets that the local food pantry now gives to many clients during the winter months.

Pastor Eric Grinager was thrilled not just with generous offerings and missions accomplished. “The value of these gifts is much greater than the dollars we spent. The best value is what it does for our spirits in being generous.”

Photo: One snowy weekend in February, worshippers sampled three soup varieties and raised money to make packets of soup mix for Church Response.  The Christian Life Center smelled like a winter kitchen as volunteers measured beans, pasta and potatoes to assemble 250 soup packets for clients of the Rapid City Food Pantry. Photo courtesy of Rapid City Canyon Lake UMC.

Contact information:

Eric Grinager, Pastor  605 348-1080 grinager.eric@gmail.com

Carol Dormann, Missions Chair  605 341-2215  dacgold@yahoo.com