Building bridges between those who have need of some assistance or goods, and those who have them to offer can sometimes be difficult. One church in Huntington, WV, has built a “Blessing Box” to engineer a solution.
It looks a bit like one of those Little Free Libraries, and the concept is similar. Those with blessings to share stock the Box; those who see something they need may help themselves to it.
The Huntington Herald Dispatch shared the story behind Trinity Episcopal Church’s Heart to Hand Blessing Box:
“Take what you need, and give what you can. Above all, be blessed and know that you are loved!”
These words are printed on the inside of the Heart to Hand Blessing Box, which was recently installed in the alley behind Trinity Episcopal Church, 520 11th St., Huntington.
Missy Clagg Browning said the Blessing Box is open to everyone to give or receive….
… Although Browning was the initial driving force behind getting the project started, she said it is really a community-sponsored project.
“Having the community take ownership of the project was the only way to ensure its success long term,” she said. …
… While there was a definite need for the blessing box, before putting the project in place, Browning said she reached out to the Huntington mayor and several churches to explain the box’s role and gauge their interest in partnering.
Reaching out to the community, and giving the Box its own Facebook page separate from the parish page, helped to establish the ministry as a whole community concern, with the ability to reach people’s need to give, and people’s need for a little extra help and love, Browning explained.
To find out more about the Heart to Hand Blessing Box, read the Herald Dispatch story here, and visit the Box’s Facebook page here.
Featured image: via Heart to Hand Blessing Box on Facebook