Two thousand years ago Jesus and his parents had no place to sleep. There was no bed for them.
Two thousand years later, the number one request we get for help at Zion is for beds. People arriving in our city may have a roof to sleep under but they don’t have a bed to sleep on. There are entire apartment complexes we visit where almost every apartment has no beds.
We believe we’re called to change that. If Jesus disguises himself as the very least of these, perhaps we can at least serve him by giving him a bed to sleep on. So Zion has partnered with Midwest Sleep in order to provide beds for people in need in our community. Thanks to a generous donation, we’re able to provide 60 single beds to people who don’t have any. Thanks to Midwest Sleep we are able to purchase the beds at cost. We’ve been taking names for weeks and done our best to verify the need. Verification has been easy as we know many of these families already and can attest to their need.
Here’s the plan:
- the beds will be delivered to the Johnston Public Schools dock the week of December 15. (Thank you, Johnston Schools for the use of your dock!)
- From the dock we’ll move the beds to Zion and store them in the cafeteria sometime after the STARS Christmas party on December 17.
- Then, on December 21, we’ll dismiss early from our worship services and ask the congregation to help us pray for, load, and deliver the beds and also about 150 Christmas food baskets to people in our community.
- In addition, many of the beds and box springs will be wrapped in bed bug protective wraps in order to extend their usefulness and provide safe and comfortable rest for many years to come.
Everyone is welcome to come and join us on Sunday, December 21, for the big bed lift. In addition, if you’re in need of a bed, please contact Zion’s Parish Nurse, Sherilyn Rittgers at 515.270.8142.
It’s the season of Advent when we focus on getting ready for the coming of King Jesus. What better way for him to find us than doing good for those he came to save.
