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By Lisa Elliott Diehl*

5:30 P.M. EST April 13, 2010 | TOPEKA, Kan. (UMNS)

Jordan Bond and Laura Royer from Lowman United Methodist Church in Topeka clean up leaves in Gage Park as part of a Rethink Church event.
UMNS photos by Britt Bradley.
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Nearly 1,000 United Methodists and community volunteers beautified their corner of the world by converging on nine local parks for Hands On Topeka.

A project of the Topeka District of The United Methodist Church, Hands On Topeka was one of three Rethink Church events occurring across the United States on April 11.

“Look at what United Methodists and their friends can do together,” said the Rev. Evelyn Fisher, Topeka district superintendent, at the closing celebration in Gage Park, the city’s largest park.

“We really put our hands on Topeka today, and Topeka will not be the same because of it. We may not be Google, and we may not have fiber optics, but we United Methodists have a kind of connection that makes a difference.” Fisher was referring to Topeka’s efforts to woo Google, including the city changing its name to Google, Kan., for the month of March.

Last November, Fisher started dreaming of how it would look for the 20 United Methodist churches in Topeka to go into the community and do the same thing on the same day. From those early conversations, the idea for a community-wide park cleanup was born.

“I challenged all the pastors to aim to have half their average worship attendance volunteer today,” Fisher said.

Five congregations, three of whom worship with fewer than 70 each week, met that goal. New Hope United Methodist Church, averaging 50 in worship, had 62 volunteers.

‘Service evangelism’

“One of my pastors has been calling this ‘service evangelism,’” Fisher said. “It’s the most natural way to share who we are. We let people know The United Methodist Church is here, it’s healthy and we care about the community. I hope our churches are ready for company because I think it’s coming after today.”

Zachary Bond from Lowman United Methodist Church wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty during the cleanup day in Topeka.
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The United Methodist Church’s reputation lured Katie McCollom to volunteer in Central Park, located in a troubled neighborhood.

“The reputation of The United Methodist Church doing work that matters is strong, so I knew we would be doing something that mattered,” McCollom said. “We as the community — faith community or not — should be mobilized to make the community better.”

She has lived within walking distance of Central Park for six months.

“I heard this park was a deadly place, and I don’t want to believe that,” McCollom said. “We make better decisions when we are prideful of our community. We know it’s not a lost cause. I hope the people who have been misusing the park will get the message that (misuse) is not welcome anymore.”

Patrick Woods, a member of Asbury-Mount Olive United Methodist Church as well as the Hands On Topeka planning team, was the site coordinator for Central Park.

“I was expecting 100 volunteers from three churches: our church, University and Grace,” Woods said. “I had assignments all mapped out. People just kept coming and coming. They’re still coming. Talk about getting an army out here!”

Woods said some people wandered in from houses neighboring the parks, not because they heard about Hands On Topeka through the media, but because they saw the people with their red “Hands On Topeka – Rethink Church” T-shirts cleaning up the neighborhood park.

‘We’ll do it again’

The Rev. Arlie Percell, pastor at New Hope United Methodist Church, said Hands On Topeka was just one more way for his congregation to go outside the church doors and into the community, a goal for the past year.

“The first day we announced it, we had 36 people sign up,” Percell said. “It’s important to do things as community, important for United Methodists to be seen in the community. We’re not doing church for those inside the building.”

Jayna McFarland, youth ministries director at First United Methodist Church, brought her daughter with her to work in the park, even though the little girl is not yet a year old.

“It’s important for the community to know the church cares for them,” McFarland said “Maybe a family will see us out here and think they could be welcome at a United Methodist church.”

Terry Bertels, city parks and recreation director and a First United Methodist Church member, was out volunteering with his church family.

“It’s about taking what we practice on Sunday and putting it to use the rest of the week. Today, I’m not wearing my parks’ service hat. I get to put my church self forward,” Bertels said.

“This event will have a long-lasting impact on the community. People will remember it, and we’ll come back and do it again.”

Volunteers filled more than 1,200 30-gallon bags with trash from the nine parks.

“We’ve had calls from other communities wanting to know how they can do this,” Fisher said. “I’m happy to share what we’ve learned, and we’ve learned a lot.”

Rethink Church is a United Methodist movement designed to remind people that church is not just a place but a way of living—following Jesus’ example, serving those in need, engaging in community and calling the world to more faithful life.

Note: The Rev. Evelyn Fisher can be reached at efisher@kansaseast.org or (877) 972-9111.

*Diehl is communications director of The United Methodist Church’s Kansas Area.

News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg or Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615)742-5470 or newsdesk@numcom.org.