“Imagine a world where you can succeed by being nice. Where we all pay it forward. Where people look out for each other. It all starts with an act.” Boldly written across the top of their website, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a worldwide community group that hopes to make the world a better place through kindness. In an attempt to channel that same mindset at a local level, a Statesboro church has asked its congregation, and community, to participate in a 40 Days of Kindness challenge.
Pittman Park UMC is in the midst of a sermon series titled Be the Change You Wish to See in the World, and they have challenged their congregation to focus on doing a daily act of kindness throughout the 40 Days of Lent, a challenge that was inspired by the church’s longtime member and current Missions Chairperson, Mickey Martin.
Pittman Park UMC’s website reads, “Let’s commit to forty days of intentional kindness in Bulloch County, Georgia. We’ll lift up our community with random acts of kindness each day as we prepare our hearts for Easter.”
Mickey Martin has made it part of her life’s mission to be an example of radical love through kindness. Understanding the importance of this work, Martin displays a dedication to this personal mission by often leaving encouraging notes for strangers in public places or offering gifts to strangers.
By asking its members to approach the coming weeks through a mindset of compassion, the church hopes to inspire a sense of love and unity throughout the community.
During his Day of Ashes service, Pastor Jonathan Smith expressed, "Throughout these forty days, from Ash Wednesday to Easter, I want our community to witness Christ’s call to unity through simple and sacrificial acts of kindness…But kindness, like unity in Christ, is a fruit that must be cultivated over time through daily choices."
Pittman Park UMC is also inviting the community to participate in their 40 Days of Kindness during the season of Lent. Martin has been actively working to engage as many people as possible and has even taken it upon herself to create a booklet that offers everything from information about the initiative to suggestions on how to participate. She also has taken a sample of these booklets to many of the other local churches asking fellow church leaders to get involved and ask their congregations to also adopt a Random Act of Kindness attitude.
When asked about her impact as the inspiration for this initiative, Martin shared, "I want everyone to participate and see the difference we can make in our community."
Pittman Park UMC has created a live Facebook event, https://fb.me/e/2jQgRDHSv, with a space for people to share their experiences in the discussion section. There is additional information about the 40 Days of Kindness initiative found on the church’s website at https://pittmanpark.org/news/kindness/. Contents include a newsletter from Pastor Smith, printable resources, and other suggestions on how to get involved through https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/.