Friday, March 9, found six of the Chapel Hill UMC family serving those within another family, at The Stew
Pot at The Bridge. Archie and Iris Shivar, Pat Moore, Margaret Young, Jose Ramirez and Ruth Medcalf
had said “Yes, I can do this.”
I want to share what the afternoon was like for some of us. As me, going to serve at The Stew Pot for the first
time was a step outside of what might be called my usual comfort zone; something I had never done before and did not
know very much about. I did know that God wanted me to do this, something that I been needing and wanting to do. Ruth
and Archie had served before and I wanted to serve with them. I’m ever so glad that I went, especially with my Chapel Hill
family. Now I know that serving at The Stew Pot is something that I can do! When I saw faces that were so young I thought
“but they’re so young”, I thought of my former students and wondered how they’re doing now. When I saw the aged faces I
thought of my own father and thanked God for taking care of him. I told myself that each person is a child of God and
thanked Him for taking care of that person.
Margaret Young shared with me so I could share with you, “I have served before and I do it because it is a real need. In
my early marriage years, Carl and I had to have assistance for a short time so I know what it was like to be helped so we
could get back on our feet. Many of these people need help just for survival and if we can help even a little bit we are
following the message discipleship.”
Pat Moore told me,”This was the second time for me. I had been in the Summer and served dinner. It’s very interesting to
watch the faces of the people as they go thru the line. Some show despair, some relief to be out of the elements, others
thanks for the meal and for the volunteers who help serve. I guess that sums up why I like doing this; the simple things that
change a person’s day.”
Ruth Medcalf said, “Mom, serving at The Bridge makes me appreciate what I have. I poured the water both times that I
have gone to The Bridge, by doing that I interact more with the homeless. Some of them thanked me for being there and
serving them and one man said that I had a good smile and looked happy. That made me feel appreciated. I am glad that I
took time out of my day to go and serve others who are less fortunate than me.”
When you see Archie and Jose ask them about the time they served at The Stew Pot. Chapel Hill UMC will have an
opportunity to serve again at The Stew Pot during dinner June 1 and July 6. Till then, to learn more visit
www.thestewpot.org/meal.asp. While I was writing this I had to stop and read Matthew 25: 33–46 and Romans 8: 28
~Iris Shivar for our Outreach Team
Please collect the following clean items for Vacation
Bible School and an Outreach Project for this summer:
Sort bakery goods, organize fresh produce from the
community gardens here and in Coppell; and help
When Jack Tolle visited 
How can it be that the 2011-2012 school year is getting closer to the end??!!
The Outreach Team has been busy gathering books and activities for our
Cabell Elementary Summer (Reading) Sacks. Our Youth, along with Ms. Heidi
and Ms. Iris will be making bookmarks, lots and lots of bookmarks to go with the 2nd
through 5th grade books. We will be using ‘stickers’ and ‘stamps’ to make the
bookmarks colorful. So……… what we need is……… those stickers and stamps that we get
in the mail with our return address labels and any other (free) stickers. Examples:
Easter Seals, St. Jude. We will be collecting the stickers through Friday, May 4, and
creating the bookmarks on Saturday, May 5.
Mary Freeman, Director of Development at