Fundraiser inspired by lunch-time walk

BY ED PAYTON

When Boston Avenue staff members Teresa Bond-Mason, Lisa Hines, Evelyn Caruso, and Blaire Hines (pictured above from left to right) took an after lunch walk in the church building one day, their conversation about food turned into questions about cookbooks. One of them wondered when Boston Avenue had last published a cookbook of member recipes. One question led to another, and the conversation launched the idea of creating a Boston Avenue Cookbook.

The Boston Avenue Cookbook was an inspired idea. It was one that brought smiles to their faces. I believe this is often how God’s spirit works. As Galatians 5:22 reminds us, God “brings us gifts into our lives much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard….”

$2800, funds which were donated to one of Boston Avenue’s newest mission projects, The Smiles of Faith Mobile Dental Clinic. And this ‘pop up’ mission activity not only raised funds for missions, but also created a sense of community among those who sent recipes and shared stories with those who purchased the cookbook.

Boston Avenue UMC staff members Teresa Bond-Mason, Lisa Hines, Evelyn Caruso, and Blaire Hines, took a walk, had an idea, and turned that idea into a fundrasier for the church’s mobile dental clinic.

The blessings come when we allow those ideas to spur us on to action. After the walk had ended, the idea that had brought smiles to their faces turned into action, with each of them making plans on how this idea could become a reality.

The idea of the “Boston Avenue Eats” Cookbook went from a topic of conversation to becoming a reality in less than two months after that walk. The idea was shared with Boston Avenue members, and it brought smiles to the faces of dozens of members who responded with recipes, photos, and stories. Recipes were typed, editing was done, photos were cropped, graphics were developed, and soon orders were being taken for what had once been nothing more than an idea that brought a smile to the faces of those four.

The Boston Avenue Cookbook sold 250 copies! It raised almost

Everyone who has read the Cookbook can’t help but smile at the photos and stories along with the recipes it contains. The Boston Avenue Work Area On Missions has been smiling ever since it heard the idea and even more so after they learned how much money the cookbook raised. The Smiles of Faith Executive Director, Staff and Board smiled when they received the muchappreciated donation, and the Smiles of Faith patients are smiling because of the dental care the proceeds help to fund. Truly, because these four women on an after-lunch walk responded with action to an idea that God’s spirit had planted in their hearts and minds, there are ‘Smiles all Around!”.

“A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face….” Proverbs 15:13a Ed Payton is the missions facilitator at Boston Avenue UMC in Tulsa.