Oceanside Church plans Great Neighbor Weekend to serve Community

Oceanside, CA - On Saturday, April 26, 2008, New Song Community Church will be donating 3,000+ man-hours of volunteer labor to the City of Oceanside, Oceanside High School, and Camp Pendleton.

As part of their "Faith In Action" series every able-bodied member of the church is being asked to serve neighbors by constructing, cleaning, and caring in these three locations.

When asked, "Why are we doing this?" Pastor Hal Seed said, "We want to be a great neighbor. It's a chance to remind our neighbors and friends that once upon a time, churches were at the center of their communities, and we want to bring that back."

"New Song's goal is to be a great neighbor to the peoples, institutions and agencies around us," says Pastor Seed, "We believe that loving our neighbor means doing things to show our love in practical ways. New Song Church volunteers already serve over 20 local agencies on a small scale every month. Every once in a while we try to do something on a larger scale, so this year we decided to offer help to three of our largest neighbors."

Chaplain Sam Contreras of Camp Pendleton had this to say about the upcoming volunteer event. "New Song Community Church is well known by Camp Pendleton from many past volunteer efforts and support of the base. We were overwhelmed by this offer to receive volunteers from the church to clear out an area for a Children's Playground and other clean-up and maintenance projects here on base. New Song is definitely a church that is standing in the gap."

Principal Kimo Marquardt of Oceanside High School personally visited New Song to thank members of the church directly for volunteering to do landscaping and other clean up around campus and for the generous outpouring of love to the community.

Churches Used to Be at the Center of Their Communities

During America's frontier days, the church was center of the community. Picnics were held there. School was conducted there. Weddings and funerals were held there. When a town held an election, citizens met at the church to decide the outcome. When a village started a library, it usually was housed first in the church.  Plays and School Board meetings, Boys and Girl Scout meetings, lectures and symposiums were all held in the local church a century ago.

Today, many cities lament when large parcels of land are bought by churches. Why? Because churches are no longer perceived as beneficial to the communities they serve.

New Song Church is working to change that by serving various social sectors, ranging from Marines to unwed mothers to gangs and the under-resourced. We hope that the city of Oceanside will think of us as a great asset, one of the best contributors to our city's prosperity. In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "You are the light of the world... let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."  Our hope is that lots of people who haven't appreciated the churches near them will begin to thank God for these churches and what they do. We'd like to lead the way in helping churches become great neighbors in their communities.

For more information contact:
New Song Community Church
3985 Mission Avenue, Oceanside, CA 92058
760-560-5000
http://www.newsongchurch.com/