WS Chronicle

Photo by Timothy Ramsey

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

Many churches who invest in the community say as a church, they must go beyond the walls and engage the people.  The Born Again Free Deliverance Tabernacle, at 741 Moravia St., believes in this principle and held its annual Community Day Saturday, Sept. 24.

This was the fifth annual Community Day that the church has held. They brought out a bounce castle for the kids and hot dogs, popcorn and doughnuts for the community to snack on.  The church also provided free giveaways such as office and school supplies, along with donated items from Hanes, like socks and t-shirts.  Other items were donated from Regional Hospital, Forsyth Tech and ADT.

Representatives from the Winston-Salem Fire and Police Departments were on hand to inform those in attendance about safety issues and to show off the capabilities of the fire truck.

Quincy Jackson Sr., of Engine 11 of the Winston-Salem Fire Department said, “We wanted to come out and tell the kids about fire safety particularly in the home.  There are a lot of dos and don’ts that many kids may not be aware of, so all in all, it’s a good chance to inform the kids and build on their youthful enthusiasm.”

Church Pastor Barbara Adams was pleased with the turnout.  She says she was happy to be able to help the people of the community.

“It’s all about outreach for the community to bring people to the church,” Bishop Adams said.  “It’s a collective of the entire neighborhood coming together and working with each other.”

Ronnie Pugh and Chanel Sholes of Unique Time watches were one of the vendors on hand.  They displayed their quality timepieces at reasonable prices for people to purchase.  Pugh said he was invited to come by a member of the church whom he works with.  He said he and his wife wanted to come out and share in the cause. They thought it was a great event to come out and help the community.

Members from the community were appreciative of the church for reaching out to the people, especially the kids.

“I thinks its great they are reaching out to the youth because they are our future,” said Tommy Bush, a member of the community.  “The kids need to know the right way to go and taught the right way.  If you teach them in the church, most likely they will come up in the church.”

The members of the church were happy to be able to help the people. Latasha Steed said she thinks events like this are important to show the community their church is there.  She says she wants the community to know the church is here for the “saving of souls” and to meet their spiritual needs.

Bishop Adams’ daughters Kanita and Shaun were two of the church volunteers for the Community Day.  Kanita said she enjoys engaging with the community and having a good time.  Shaun added, “I feel like it’s important for the community to come out and see that the church actually cares.  Here we do a lot of community service that is not publicized, but something like this is great for the community to see.”