Flying J nights are…

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, then you know that one of the ministries of the church I serve is our Flying J ministry.

Twice a month we head over to the Flying J truck stop where we do laundry with people, make sure people can get showers, and eat a meal and worship with people at Denny’s. Our target audience are the homeless and poor. We primarily work with those who live in their vehicles in the parking lot and those that live in the motels along the Carlisle Pike. We’ve been doing this for a bit over a year.

The ministry has grown over the year — both in terms of the number of people we work with as well as our partnerships. We are grateful for these partnerships. Representatives of Community Cares, the emergency shelter in town, comes regularly. This evening we had representatives from UPMC to assist people with applications for insurance and SNAP.

So now that you are caught up, let’s turn to the title.

Flying J nights are…

They are joyful and joy filled. Each time we gather, we are surrounded by people who are grateful. There is a great deal of gratitude.

During our informal worship at Denny’s we have an opportunity for everyone to offer up a prayer — whether it be a petition to God or a thanksgiving. More often than not, the pray intention is a thanksgiving.

Flying J nights are humbling. How else can I feel when I get to know people who are homeless? Getting to know these people is very…