Kalamazoo United group plans community-wide service day

Last fall more than 3,000 people filled Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo for the Kalamazoo United prayer event. Jeff Wenke, Pastor, The Bridge, Portage and Bishop Bradley, co-organizers of Kalamazoo United, considered the event a great success as a visible show of Christian unity. The hope was to inspire greater unity and collaboration among Protestant and Catholic Churches in the Kalamazoo area. The logical follow-up question for the Kalamazoo United planning committee was, “What now?”

As the group was pondering potential next steps Richard Rethoret came forward with the idea of “Kalamazoo United Day of Service” (KUDOS). He was inspired by The Bridge Church’s bi-monthly Community Impact days where Church members devote a Saturday to serving the community.

This city-wide event will invite Christians to take part on a day of service on Saturday October 27 which marks the oneyear anniversary of the Kalamazoo United Event. The goal is to have 500 people working on 30 projects throughout the area. Projects could range from working at a food pantry to helping with light maintenance work at a nonprofit agency and more.

The tentative schedule for KUDOS will be for a morning kick-off at Kalamazoo Christian High School for a time of prayer before the teams depart for their service projects.

Currently Rethoret is forming a KUDOS team to plan the event. Those interested in the event or serving may contact him at: richard.rethoret@gmail.com.

For more information on Kalamazoo United or to sign-up to receive the weekly prayer focus, visit: www.kalamazooisunited.com