Tuck this terrific idea into your evangelism team’s futures file. The Rev. Peter Faass, rector of Christ Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio, wrote this in response to our post about Compline being brought to the public square:
Here is something else to add to your list. Tomorrow Christ Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio will embark on an inaugural program to bring the good news of the Resurrection and this time of year out into the streets. The name of our project is Roses to Go!
About two dozen members of the parish will be splitting into two groups. One will head for the weekly Farmer’s Market in Shaker Square and the other to the Van Aken Shopping Plaza across the street from the church. Both those locations have Cleveland RTA transit stations near them. The parishioners will be loaded with 600 long-stemmed white roses that have a tag tied to each with a white ribbon. On one side of the tag there is a photo of our White Steeple and our flagpole flying American and Rainbow flags. The tag says, “Happy Easter, Passover and Spring!” it includes the name of the parish, our address, telephone number, web site and Facebook page. The flip side lists our three Easter services and their times: Easter Vigil, Saturday, April 19 at 8:00 p.m., and the 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. services on Easter, April 20.
There is a small Rainforest Alliance Certified emblem at the bottom indicating that the roses have been sustainability grown and harvested. Our folks will then be wandering about these places, handing the roses out at random to people at this locales and wishing them the best of the season. The hope is to offer hospitality, increase awareness of the church in our community and to make people aware that they are welcome to join us for the Resurrection and beyond. Any remaining roses will be given to the residents of a nursing home/extended care facility in our neighborhood. The weather forecast is excellent and we are praying for the Holy Spirit’s presence with us as we embark on this outreach and evangelism project.
What a great idea!