By Ben Bromley
Offering a gift on Sunday morning doesn’t need to mean dropping money into a plate. Parishioners at First Presbyterian Church in Baraboo have found it’s more rewarding to give of their time and talents than their treasure.
On March 23, about two dozen volunteers reported not to church for a Sunday morning service, but to three nonprofit organizations in need of help. Those who did attend that morning’s service monitored the volunteers’ progress via Internet video.
Bruce Hart, the church’s director of mission and youth programs, said CHURCH — Christians Helping to Unite Relationships, Community and Healing — was designed to provide hands-on lessons in discipleship.
“We were doing what we preach about, taking that lesson and putting it into practice,” Hart said.
Volunteers of all ages split into three crews and worked for about an hour. One group made “creature huts” for small animals at the Sauk County Humane Society. Another raked leaves at Hope House. A third painted scaffolding at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.