Have Your Group Sponsor a Night at the Kindness Station

If you’ve ever visited the downtown Kindness Station or received a free ride home in one of the “Kindness Cars,” you may have noticed something unique about the Kindness Team volunteers serving you. That being, the makeup of the Kindness Team itself. Why, the team is a hodgepodge of people representing different groups from the community, and many volunteer for a variety of reasons.

While this weekly outreach effort is organized and overseen by a single local church, The Redemption Movement, its support in recent years has come from a coalition of community groups that are all united by one thing, showing kindness. These organizations include; multiple local churches, student groups, local businesses, local nonprofits, and more. In fact, this message of community unity is communicated to every person we serve by having each group displayed on the back of the “Kindness Cards” that we pass out to the public. 

Also, another demographic at the Kindness Station are individuals that don’t necessarily represent any group. They just like showing up and serving up some kindness. And that’s cool too!

The best part about making this a community activity instead of just a Redemption Movement ministry is that it’s allowed us to accomplish so much more. And it’s in this spirit of "doing the most good" that we open up the Kindness Station to the community in new way: Have your group sponsor a night of the Kindness Station!

An Example of How Sponsoring the Station Allows Us to Do More

This is an idea that we tried for the first time last November after SUNY Oneonta sorority Pi Delta Chi reached out to us about volunteering at the Kindness Station. After realizing the size of the group that we had to work with, I proposed the idea of having the sorority sisters volunteer on a Saturday night--a night when our current group of volunteers aren’t typically able to serve. Pi Delta Chi was able to commit to a Saturday, which made it possible to do the Kindness Station for two nights in the row for the first time since starting the station in 2015!

The outing went so well that we’d like to extend the invitation to other community groups to come and sponsor a night of the Kindness Station. It’s a great way to gain exposure for your group, get credit for community service hours, and of course, make a difference in your community.

Click here to learn about more benefits to volunteering.

What’s it Look Like to Have Your Group Sponsor the Kindness Station?

Officially sponsoring the station as a group is a little different than having an individual volunteer on their own, inasmuch as the arrangements will have to be made with Pastor Kaler beforehand. This way, we can make sure that there’s enough volunteers to pull it off. Planning ahead like this will also ensure that every volunteer will know what the Kindness Station is all about and end up with a job to do.

As a minimum, a group sponsoring the Kindness Station will want to provide coverage of five volunteers throughout the night. A typical night of service lasts from 10pm-3am. This can be broken down in a few ways: a team of five from your organization can commit to serving all night long, or arrangements can be made so that a larger group can take individual shifts at the station, or a group larger than five can serve all night long at the station and additional volunteer responsibilities will be added accordingly.  

Some of the ways you or your group can volunteer:

• Running/restocking the hospitality table.
• Welcoming people to the Kindness Station.
• Providing breathalyzer testing.
• Distributing free winter clothes.
• Canvassing downtown with “Kindness Baskets.” 
• Riding along in the cars and assisting with the rides.
• Driving people home (for trained volunteers only).
• Setup and teardown.
• And more jobs/acts of kindness can be created for larger groups. 

Currently, Friday or Saturday nights during the school year are available for having a group sponsor the Kindness Station, as well as nights when there’s a special occasion that calls for the service, like Saint Patrick’s Day, OH-Fest, etc.

To make arrangements for your community group, student group, church group, business, or any other group to sponsor a night at the Kindness Station, call Kaler at (607) 434-2564, or email rm.gigs@gmail.com. 

55 Retail Workers Shown Kindness During Thanksgiving Sales

For families across the country, Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate traditions. For The Redemption Movement, our Thanksgiving tradition takes us to Oneonta’s Southside Mall for a special act of kindness: blessing retail workers with care packages that includes a $2 bill and a bag of candy. 

For 2017’s Thanksgiving AoK, the Carpenter family and Kindness Team member Pat Raczkowski visited JCPenney, Southside Cinema, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Within an hour, 55 care packages were delivered, bringing cheer and thankfulness to many workers unable to spend the holiday with their families.

Over the past five Thanksgivings, this makes a total of 330 care packages that our little church has given away. Each care package includes a thank-you card and a $2 bill, meaning that we’ve passed out $660 in cash to retail workers since 2013 (along with a whole lotta chocolate)!

Read more about previous Thanksgivings: 2013, 2014, 2015, & 2016.

This year, we assembled the care packages right after the family Thanksgiving meal, an enjoyable task thanks to the help of a friend. We then piled in the car with the kiddos and headed to the mall. But, unlike most at the store, we weren’t on a mission to shop.

Highlights from the outing include:

• The first young lady we encountered literally cried after I gave her the care package. She was overwhelmed with emotion and told us how happy the simple AoK made her.
• One woman from JCPenney remembered us from previous years and commented on how much our kids have grown (our youngest son was in a baby in a stroller during last year’s Thanksgiving outing).
• We gave a care package to a mother who was sad because she didn’t get to spend Thanksgiving with her kids. I suggested that she give the candy to her kids. She replied with a laugh and said, “Yeah, we’ll see how the night goes.” 
• One young man was so excited about receiving a care package that he had a difficult time gathering his words to say thank you. I was able to leave him with five cards to pass out to busy cashiers nearby and he vowed to “carry on the message.” 
• Many workers told us how much they were in need of an act of kindness like this, and many more asked about our church.
• We even encountered workers that we already knew and are friends with through the ministries of our church. It was so cool to be there to support our friends in such a special way. 

Giving away all 55 care packages went by really fast. The stores we visited were super busy and things were, unfortunately, too hectic to allow for deep conversations with the people we ministered to. But, each worker now has our contact information and the seeds of relationships have been sown. At the end of the day, spending this much money is way more fun/meaningful than dropping $100+ on discounted merchandise, and I look forward to doing it all again next year!

Bonus Act of Kindness: Helping Out My Cashier With a Free Ride Home 

While shopping the day before for supplies pertaining to this Thanksgiving outreach, I overheard a cashier complain about the OPT buses not operating their late bus like usual. She didn’t find this out until it was too late, meaning that she would have to walk home in the cold weather. During checkout, I introduced myself and gave her my #OneontaRides Kindness Card so she could call me after her shift was over for a ride home. Thankfully, the woman took up my offer and called me an hour later for a ride. It was an enjoyable ride and we got to talk about church most of the way.

Typically, we only offer free rides home like this on the weekends, but every once in awhile I’ll encounter a need like this that’s too compelling to ignore. It’s all about being open to the needs around you when you’re going through your routine. Often times, we may only view cashiers, clerks, customer service specialist, merchandise stockers, etc., as there to serve our needs (and not really “see” them at all). But, whenever we take a moment to slow down and view the world through God’s eyes, it’s my belief that purchasing stuff will take a back seat to the needs of others--and, isn’t that what Christmas is all about?   

New Weekly Rhythm Offers a Holistic Approach to Church

There’s now more variety to be had on Thursday evenings at The Redemption Movement. The 6pm meetings at RM’s River Street storefront will take place on a rotating schedule--one that provides a different kind of gathering each week. The schedule is as follows:

Worship Service: Communion

These gatherings will most closely resemble what one would expect from a traditional, church worship service. The congregation will sing worship songs led by a team of musicians, followed by a time of teaching and communion. 

Fellowship Meal: Community

These gatherings will be characterized by food and fellowship. A potluck-style meal will be provided, and time will be dedicated to sharing about each person’s lives--ranging from struggles to celebrations. The goal of these meals is to strengthen relationships, build community, and help people find the support and encouragement they need within the church.

Celebrating a birthday with friends at RM's storefront church.

Community Outreach: Co-Mission

Putting words into practice by showing the love of God to others in our city is a big part of what it means to be the church. On Outreach Thursdays, this will either be done by actually going out as a church to bless the community in a practical way. Or, we’ll combine our efforts to strengthen and build up RM’s existing outreach ministries, like the Kindness Station and the free ride service. 

Why Not Just Do the Same Thing Every Week?

The idea behind this new, rotating schedule is to provide a rhythm that gives worshippers a more holistic approach to weekly church gatherings, one that includes communion, community, and co-mission. Since moving our church’s weekly gathering to Thursdays, we’ve discovered that it’s difficult to accomplish all three of these purposes within a two-hour, once-a-week gathering.

It’s our hope that, by dedicating an entire evening to each of these three purposes, we’ll be a church that’s balanced when it comes to communion, community, and co-mission. We also hope that being intentional like this will produce a kind of spiritually-holistic growth in people that wouldn’t otherwise happen if we focused on just one or two aspects of church life (at the expense of neglecting another aspect).

Bonus: for all of these meetings, childcare will be provided.

To find out where the upcoming Thursday fits into this rotating schedule, you can email Pastor Kaler at rm.gigs@gmail.com, or call 607.434.2564, or check the church schedule on the front page of this blog.

Evil is in the World, But We Know He Who is Greater

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

This promise in 1 John that gives us incredible peace (blessed assurance) in the midst of anything that we’ll ever encounter in this world.

And, as we’re all keenly aware, the world is broken. It is a jacked up, messed up place.

Evil is very real, and Satan preys upon the innocent--seeking to kill and destroy every human that bears the image of God.

But, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

In America’s most recent mass shooting, evil showed itself by taking innocent life at a small church in Texas.

It’s a horrific tragedy that doesn’t make any sense. It’s tempting to react with fear, and even be angry at God. This past week, the world’s reaction to this particular tragedy has been anger--and this anger has been directed to those who have faith in God. To those who respond to tragedy, with prayer.

They mock the promise “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world,” saying that it can’t possibly be true as long as there is evil in the world.

You know what, there are a lot of promises in the Bible, and tomorrow isn’t one of them.

As long as we live in a fallen world, we are vulnerable to evil. Tragedy can befall this little church just like anywhere else. But, despite the reality of evil, we believe that God is greater, and therefore, we’re free from anger and fear, and we can take refuge in God by communing with Him, in prayer.    

Admittedly, the innocent dying at the hands of evil is painful and can’t be easily explained and. 

Yet, God identifies with our sorrows because He experienced the full brunt of this evil when his innocent Son, Jesus Christ, was murdered on a cross.

For the sake of our sins and BECAUSE the world has a problem with evil, God sent Jesus to redeem the world by subjecting him to the worst that Satan and evil could do.

Nails pierced his hands and feet. Thorns were pushed into his head. He was severely beaten and mocked, and he died a slow, agonizing death hanging from a cross. All this done to a man that was on a mission to heal a broken world.     

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 

This is not an empty promise.

Jesus overcame evil for all of us when he rose victoriously from the dead.

And now, the same power that raised Christ literally dwells “inside of us,” so that we too can overcome the world and all of its evil.

So tonight, if the world has made you angry, or sad, or if you’re hurting or offended, then come to the table, identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Tonight, seek out the powerful prayers of the saints, and find healing in a power that is greater “than he who is in the world.”

From the Anchor sermon series "Blessed Assurance," Message: "Test the Spirits."