A couple of months ago, some of us were at it again…brainstorming. You can never tell where we will land with these crazy ideas of ours! We were hoping to come up with a socially-distanced intergenerational activity to connect people safely…and that’s how #ChalktheLove came to be.
Abbie, Elisa, and I wanted children and youth families to go chalk the sidewalks/drive-ways of our older adults as a way to spread joy and love and connect to Rev. Philip’s sermon series of “Love. Actually.” When we came up with this plan, Sarah Boyette had not yet been hired to work with the older adults. Once Sarah B. was hired, we gave her some time to adjust (ok, we really only gave her a couple of days) and we sprung the idea on her. Thankfully she loved it! She loved the idea so much that she already had 11 people on the list before we had even sent it sign-up information to children and youth families. She’s quite the go-getter!
A handful of families signed up and several driveways/sidewalks have already been chalked. The response from the “chalkers” and the “chalkees” has been so positive and joyful and uplifting. We are still in need of families to go chalk and we are still taking sign-ups to have your driveway/sidewalk chalked. If you are interested in either, you can still sign up!
If this activity is more of a spectator sport for you, then enjoy these quotes and photos from #ChalktheLove.
#ChalktheLove Quotes:
- “Oh my gosh, it’s WONDERFUL and so CREATIVE!!!! Thank you soooo much for your efforts on our driveway. Fun, fun….. My husband just said an ‘older gentleman’ came down the sidewalk and actually did the hopscotch, said he was pretty good too! Please share with your hopscotch artist. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to say hello but THANK YOU, THANK YOU for a delightful gift!”
- “We were so surprised - and excited to discover our chalking! We love it! I was in the middle of something in the back of the house and he was doing a variety of things but didn't see or hear anyone! We saw it later on the security video! So, we would love to thank whoever is responsible! This is just a really cool idea!”
- “Our family loved going to chalk! Can you please send us the address to another family so that we can do it again?”
I LOVE seeing our church come together in so many different ways. Ministry looks so different these days and I can’t wait to see what comes next! Here are 3 ways to get involved:
- Email Sarah Boyette if you would like your sidewalk/driveway chalked:
- Register here if you would like to receive someone’s address to go chalk: https://fumchurst.shelbynextchms.com/external/form/ee9ad523-4f7d-44ee-9ca0-1ffc07f94da0
- Just go chalk a friend’s sidewalk/driveway, take pics and post it to Facebook with the hashtags #FUMCHurst and #ChalktheLove so others can enjoy and be inspired to do the same!
Go out into the world, spread joy, and #ChalktheLove!
#ChalkTheLove
