By Christina Smith – Contributing Writer
The generosity of the New Creation Church of San Diego will impact the lives of dozens of seniors at the Neighborhood House Association’s (NHA) Senior Nutrition Program. The desire of the New Creation to reach outside the walls of the church and make a difference in the community led the congregation to adopt NHA’s Senior Center. The church donated $1,500 to support the program, the first of many donations the congregation plans to give to support the seniors.
In 2014, Pastor Reginald Gary, pastor of New Creation Church of San Diego, participated in an NHA agency tour with other local ministers to get a close look at some of the programs and services NHA provides. Having the opportunity to experience the programs for himself, Pastor Gary believed in the work being done at NHA, and knew this was an organization he and his church should support.
“We really wanted to find a way to be more involved. We saw that Neighborhood House was really impacting the community, so making the decision to get behind this organization was easy,” Gary said.
New Creation has decided to take quarterly offerings to support NHA’s Senior Nutrition Program. The donations will help ensure that the senior continue to receive healthy, balanced meals. Seniors are served breakfast and lunch, and while there is a suggested donation for meals, no senior is turned away if they are unable to pay.
“We are grateful to the congregation at New Creation and Pastor Gary for their commitment to NHA and our Senior Center. NHA depends on the support of organizations like New Creation to continue providing vital services to our seniors and all of the families we serve. Their generosity is a reflection of the heart they have for this community, and their support really makes a difference,” said Rudolph A. Johnson, III, President and CEO of NHA.
Pastor Gary is excited that New Creation can be a blessing to the seniors, and hopes that other like-minded churches will start to invest in service providers in their communities such as NHA.
“We get so comfortable inside the walls of our churches, but there is so much work to be done outside those walls. If each of us can do our part, we can all help build better communities together.
For more information on the Neighborhood House Association, visit www.neighborhoodhouse.org. For more information on New Creation, visit www.nccofsd.org.
