Building Peace is a monthly all-ages faith formation program hosted at Peace Lutheran, Charlottesville with the goal to bring together parishioners and neighbors looking to make a difference in their community. Building Peace is one of several recipients of grants from the Virginia Synod Fund for Mission. Each month Building Peace focuses its activities around a theme, and February’s theme was “Spreading the Love”.
This month’s Building Peace program allowed those gathered learned about some of the many needs in the Charlottesville community and worked to spread love through several service projects. At the event, the director of Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, Inc. shared information about food deserts in Charlottesville where 1 in 6 people and 1 in 7 children – are food insecure. After learning those gathered worked to sort and bag onions as part of their giveaway. Folks also got a chance to try carrying 30 pounds of food for half a mile – 5 laps around the parking lot: that’s the amount of food given regularly and the distance from the food pantry to the nearest bus stop. The event also made dog biscuits for the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, sorted screws and built small shelves for The Habitat Store, made valentine cards to go in some of the food pantry bags this week, and assembled Blessing Bags of essentials for the homeless.
Build Peace provides opportunities for the Peace, Charlottesville community and their neighbors to meet one another, and to bring a positive impact into their community. The next event for the series will be held on March 8 and will focus on community peace. For more information on Building Peace, click here.
