Church project to shed light on poverty

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February 17, 2010

From Staff Reports The North Jefferson News The North Jefferson News Wed Feb 17, 2010, 01:37 PM CST

GARDENDALE — Paul Turner is praying for a warm, rain-free weekend.

On Friday, the youth pastor at Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church and at least 15 youth members will be participating in a project that will culminate with an outdoors sleepover.

The project, known as 30 Hour Famine, will require participants to fast for 30 hours between Friday at noon until 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Friday evening, participants will construct a cardboard city in the church parking lot that will provide shelter for the evening.

The purpose of the project is to shed light on homelessness and poverty locally and around the world. The 30 Hour Famine project is a national campaign created by World Vision. However, it’s the first time the project has been attempted at the church.

“For some of the kids, it will be their first time [to fast] and it may be drastic at first,” Turner said. “I hope they find some solidarity with homeless people and come out of the experience a little more loving and caring.”

The project will also be used to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief. Individual participants will try to raise money through securing sponsorships. The group has set a total goal of $500.

Participants will arrive at the church at 6 p.m. on Friday and will begin assembling the cardboard city. A speaker from Birmingham’s Urban Ministries will also talk to the group about Birmingham’s homeless problem and some of the causes.

While there won’t be any junk food around, the evening won’t be void of all nourishment — there will be water, juice and chicken broth available.

“We’ll have some game time and keep them busy so their minds are off of food,” Turner said. “We’ll bed down for the night outside. They won’t lose sleep and lose food; they’ll go to sleep at some point.”

On Saturday, the group will take part in a service project with Urban Ministries that will involve role-playing games.

“We’ll do some re-enactments where they may wake up in the morning and have to go get water for their village,” Turner said. “They may face tigers or war lords or things they have to deal with just to get some water for their village.”

Turner said he can’t control what this weekend’s weather will be like, but he’s hoping for a break from the cold temperatures.

“A warm night would be nice, but the homeless don’t have a choice,” he said.

For more information on 30 Hour Famine, visit www.30hourfamine.org.

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