Congregation helps put 'Love in Action'

This weekend Lumpkin Countians looking for ways to give back to their community can discover how to do just that while also enjoying a free chili lunch, musical performances and a firetruck tour and puppet show for the children.
It’s the Love In Action Community Service Fair, and it takes place Saturday, Oct. 23, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.  at St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church, 1188 Hamp Mill Road.
The idea for the fair came from the church’s rector, John Hamilton.
“A lot of the work done in these organizations is done by church members in the community. I wanted to find a way for non-church people and people new to the community or recently retired to get involved,” he said. “We feel St. Elizabeth’s needs to be a blessing to the whole community. Episcopalians believe loving Jesus is looking like Jesus. That means serving people. So we want to invite people to take on that life because that life is life-giving.”
A wide variety of organizations will be present to share their activities and ways for people to become involved. Community service groups represented include the Ann Greene Free Clinic; No One Alone, Inc., the county’s domestic violence shelter program; Young at Heart, a respite program for caregivers of those suffering from Alzheimers; Community Helping Place, which serves the community in numerous ways; ConnectAbility, Inc., serving those with disabilities;  Enotah CASA, Inc., which helps the court system with youngsters who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect; Family Connection, which helps families find resources to keep their children safe and successful in school; and Jeremiah’s Place/Interfaith Ministries, which offers temporary shelter and a road to recovery for the homeless will be present.
But other organizations offering volunteer opportunities for people with special interests will also be there. The Chamber of Commerce uses volunteers for many of its activities, from manning the information desk in the welcome Center to hosting candidate forums, its youth leadership program, and special events.
Also there will be Lumpkin County Literacy Coalition, Friends of the Library and the Literary Festival Committee for those interested in the importance of the written word; Lumpkin County Senior Center, which offers many programs for seniors from exercise, arts and crafts, special outings and free congregate lunch; Pick and Bow Traditional Music School and the North Georgia Chamber Symphony for music lovers; Holly Theater Community Theater; Lumpkin County Historical Society; and for those with a love of hiking, Yahoola Outdoors, which does work to maintain the Reservoir Trail and Dahlonega Trail Fest, the county’s annual festival celebrating the Appalachian Trail.
“A chili lunch, lemonade and baked goods will be available all day and a fire truck will be there for the children to tour,” said event committee chair Melissa Lach. “There will be a puppet show at 11:30  and 12:30, Pick and Bow performs at 1 and the symphony at 2. The entire event will take place outside, and we are hoping for pleasant weather.”