The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Blessings on Corner opens church to neighborhood
Gathering features free health screenings, food
The spirit of giving felt as warm as the sun when a Lorain church held its annual neighborhood festival on Aug. 26.
Blessings on the Corner has become a yearly summer gathering for New Creation Baptist Church, 1929 W. 23rd St.
The church was founded in 2007 and the congregation has held Blessings on the Corner for five years, said Pastor Marilyn Parker-Jeffries.
The church is there to serve the community, she said, so clothing, grilled hot dogs, health screenings for adults and party favors for the children all are free. The gently used clothes, for women, children and men, were donated by the community.
“I stress to the members of the congregation, we don’t sell, we don’t have a rummage sale, we don’t have a yard sale, because God said, give,” she said. “He said, give to the poor, so we’re going to try and do it his way.”
The event is no small undertaking. Over the years, crowds have ranged from 150 to 300 people and attendance was on track to hit that on Aug. 26.
Mercy Hospital Marilyn Chavalia had 24 adults come in for screenings for blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid and prostate health.
Children had to get numbered tickets to get a seat for face painting by Lorain artist Sharon Brown; balloon artist Katie Burian of Exclusive Balloons inflated, twisted and tied a number of creations for youths and at least one adult.
Parker-Jeffries also is a chaplain for the Lorain Police Department. Children could operate the lights and sirens of a visiting LPD cruiser, in a positive way, she said.
“I thank God that he blessed us to find this place,” said Sharon Washington, of Lorain.
The same day, Washington said she took her three grandsons to get school uniforms at a Lorainbased nonprofit, but they could not get clothes, because they were not part of that group’s programs. She ended up at New Creation Baptist Church with grandsons Gualitto Matos, 10, Izayah Matos, 7, and Jamere Matos, 5.
“I think this is really a wonderful thing that they did, to bring the kids out, have some family time,” Washington said.
The event started because when the congregation moved in, its members had to clean out the building.
“I watched as the neighborhood watched us doing all this renovating and cleaning out of the church,” Parker-Jeffries said.
Blessings on the Corner is a neighborhood meeting, not a worship service, because sometimes people are not comfortable showing up on Sunday morning with a lot of strangers, Parker-Jeffries said. “Just come and meet us, because we want to be part of the neighborhood,” she said.
She invited the guests to return for Sunday worship, and all are welcome. New Creation Baptist Church has become a “multicultural church,” with African American, Caucasian and Hispanic members, Parker-Jeffries said.
The church also offers free piano lessons and this year aims to start a drum line for young men. The piano program, with weekly lessons on Sundays, is a partnership with students of the Oberlin Conservatory, with financial help from the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office and American Baptist Association, Parker-Jeffries said.