Hands of Grace (HOG), a conglomeration of local churches came to Tracy Park Friday on a mission —- to feed the hungry and give out clothing items to people in need.
HOG is a collaborative effort between Dry Run Church of Christ in West Portsmouth, The Salvation Army, Living Faith Temple and Pleasant Green Baptist Church, all of Portsmouth. Carmen Josey, of Dry Run Church of Christ, said they are simply doing what Jesus Christ did for them.
“This is a new ministry and its called the Hands of Grace because that is what we’re doing, because that is what Christ did for us. He extended grace to us,”Josey said. “We are extending a hand of grace to those who are less fortunate. We are made up of several churches from the community, and the whole purpose is to feed and close folks,”
HOG was launched March 2016 with a charitable gathering in Lucasville.
“Our first efforts of reaching out to the community were done in March of this year, where we went out to an area known as the bottoms in Lucasville, and gave out food, and clothing there and has taken on a life of its own and we want to continue to do this for our community,” Josey said.
The plan is to continue to move around to different parts in the local area to give and food and clothing.
“We are going to go to different parts of the area and feed and clothe people as much as we can, ” Josey said. “We want to thank all of the churches for being responsive to our requests for donations for clothing and food and we will continue to keep the public updated on the next feeding.”
Darrin Miller, of Living Faith Temple, said he is glad to be a part of this ministry.
“This means a lot to me to just help people and to help put a smile on someone’s face who is in need,” Miller said. “It is our job as Christians to feed the poor and destitute, so it just does my heart good to be out here.”
James Calder, of The Salvation Army, said it is all about making connections.
“This a part of my ministry. I feed the homeless three times a week, and then I come out here on the weekend,” Calder said. “And it touches people’s hearts to be able to see them fellowship, to sit down and relax and be able to eat a meal. You get to know. You get to pray with them, and talk to them. That is what God wants us to do.
For more information regarding HOG, contact Carmen Josey at 740-821-1188.
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The newly formed ministry, ‘Hands of Grace’ brought food and clothing to Tracy Park for people in need on Friday.
The Canteen of the Portsmouth Salvation Army is the vehicle by which ‘Hands of Grace’ distributed food to people in Tracy Park on Friday.
