'Free Day' at Church in Lafayette, Tennessee, is Huge Success

As the holidays grow near the spirit of giving is reaching out from a one church in a small farming community in northern Tennessee. A local church in Lafayette, Tennessee, is outstretching arms of love to the community within which it resides. The First Baptist Church located at 400 Church Street in the heart of the small community opened its doors to the public on Saturday, November 10, for a "free day". During this day they offered to the public clothing for men, women and children, toys for the little shoppers, and even household items for all that came. These items were free for the taking to any member of the community.

Many wonder at how this is even possible in the world that we live in today. This novel idea allowed the members of the church an opportunity to bring in things from their homes that they no longer wanted or needed. These things ranged from clothing that was not worn anymore, or no longer fit the individual to toys that the children in the congregation once loved, but no longer needed. All of the items donated by the congregation were then sorted out and placed so that they were easily accessible to all in the community. The small church spread the word about the day by word of mouth and an announcement in the Macon County Times newspaper.

As with any community outreach program, the small church organizing this event undoubtedly had moments of worry. They no doubt wondered how the turnout for the event would be, and if all of the hard work that they had put into the event would truly pay off for those who needed the items they were offering in the community. Thankfully, their turn out was excellent. They turned no one away, and all who came seeking clothing, toys or household items, left with something. In some cases what they took away was simply a feeling of being loved and cared about by someone in the community, in some cases what was took away was a warm coat or sweater that they needed for the coming cold months but had no means of purchasing.

This free day was even more of a blessing than normal in this community that was so hard hit in recent months by drought. Crops died in the fields, farmers struggled with getting water to their livestock, and even local car washes and Laundromats were limited on water usage during the extreme drought of the summer. Add to that the recent increase in gas prices and the downturn in the economy, and many families in this small community have found themselves wondering how they would get the things that they needed for the upcoming months of winter. One small church has stretched out arms of love and shown their community that regardless of the situation or how hard times are, one group of people caring can truly help an entire community.