LIFE2CBUS
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Hey Reader, We paused last month. Some of you noticed a July newsletter never landed, and that was intentional. Our LIFE Vineyard Church family walked through a deep and tragic loss this past month — a loss that has been reshaping how we care for one another and hold each other close. Some of you are grieving alongside us. Others may be reading this and learning of it for the first time. Wherever you're sitting with this news today, would you carry our church family in prayer? There is still work being done in and through LIFE2Cbus, and there is still God's steady kindness meeting us in the middle of it. This month, I want to tell you what June and July held — including a couple of stories we never got to share — and I want to invite you back to the table in August. June + July RecapBecause we didn't send in July, this recap covers the last two months together. Some of what's below happened before the season turned heavy. All of it matters. The Community Closet has a leader 👋Elizabeth Lykins stepped up this spring to lead the entire Community Closet — and in June, the transformation became impossible to miss. Where there used to be chaos and good intentions, there's now an organized, dignified space. 150 Hangers — a note from Elizabeth 💭In her own words: When, during the late-April L2C Volunteer Meeting, Aaron mentioned that he needed a coordinator for the Clothing Ministry, a little voice inside me said, "You like clothes: You could probably do this." Ummad, my husband, and I met with Aaron in the latter part of May to discuss the ministry, and in early June, we started to tackle the closet – and the Lord Jesus has been with us every step of the way.
I have seen God's blessing in that closet in both big and small ways in the last 30-ish days – most recently late this past week. After sorting through our inventory, we are blessed with an abundance of items, and Aaron is reaching out to partner organizations to coordinate a time for them to shop our store next month.
I immediately began to fret about distribution this past Wednesday afternoon: Hangers are a precious commodity in the closet, and I said, "Lord Jesus: Where am I going to get enough hangers for this event?" Cruising Facebook Marketplace that evening, as one does, a new post appeared, and yesterday morning, I picked up 150 hangers from a gentleman who was leaving town; he charged me $10. I have been cruising Marketplace for six weeks on the hunt for hangers, and I have never once seen so many available at this price.
It was yet another answer to prayer, and my heart was filled with joy and gratitude for the blessing the Lord Jesus is pouring out on L2C.
On a quick closing note, the love and care that has been poured into the clothing ministry since its inception is obvious: We have a tremendous inventory of excellent clothing ready to share with our neighbors. That is due, in no small part, to Aaron, Brynn and Emily as well as those of you who dedicated your energy and love to helping sort clothes. Thank you for putting in place such a tremendous foundation on which to continue building this ministry. We have so much more to come!
— Elizabeth Lykins, Community Closet Director
Two ways to step in with Elizabeth going forward:
Serve the City + 600+ Toys 🧸This is the kind of partnership story that makes us giddy — and we didn't get to share it in July, so here it is now. We had thousands of toys donated to LIFE2Cbus over the spring, and in June we started getting them out the door in a serious way. In partnership with the youth event Serve the City, over 600 toys were distributed directly into the community through two partner organizations:
And here's the beautiful part: the students did it. Serve the City youth carried the boxes, knocked on the doors, and put toys in kids' hands. Then those same students came back for an encore — about 10 of them ran one of our Thursday Resource Hubs in June. A whole youth crew, showing up, serving our neighbors, learning what this kind of love looks like up close. The Numbers (June + July Combined)From the kiosk at the Thursday Resource Hub, June and July together:
Plus 600+ toys distributed through Amethyst and Riverview International Center. July itself was intentionally quiet — just two Thursday Hubs held before the season required all of us to slow down. That was the right call. And now we're stepping back in. A Brief Personal Note 💍I got married in July. It was a joy — a real, deep joy — held in tension with everything our church family was walking through at the same time. Thank you for the kindness that has surrounded my wife and me over these weeks. Thank you for the meals, the messages, the prayers. August NewsOur neighbors are coming back in deep numbers — and we need you back on the calendar with them. August is a full month, and there are two places I especially need hands: 🥘 Community Dinner — Sunday, August 16 (5:00–7:00 PM)Community Dinners are the heartbeat of our monthly rhythm — hot food, real conversation, and a table our neighbors know they belong at. We need cooks, servers, greeters, and folks willing to just sit and eat with people. Come. 🏠 Thursday Resource Hub — every Thursday, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PMFour Thursdays in August (6, 13, 20, and 27). This is where the sustained work of showing up gets done. Even one shift makes a difference — and after two months of a lighter tempo, we're going to feel it if the schedule stays thin. What else is on the calendar
👉 Sign up at life2cbus.org/serve One thing on pause: Food Pantry WorkWe are pausing Food Box Delivery + Packing entirely for August so we can rethink how to do this at a larger scale — because the need is only growing, and the current model can't stretch to meet it. Get ready to jump back in next month. More on the new shape of it soon. Here's what IS happening in August — and we need you there: 👉 Sign up at life2cbus.org/serve Donation Needs Corner 🔧Here's what we need most. If you can grab any of this on your next Target run — or rally your small group to take a category — drop it off at the church on a Sunday. 👟 Men's new or used shoes 👔 New or gently used men's clothing Prayers + PraisePray With Us 🙏Names listed by initials only to protect privacy. Would you carry these with us this month?
Praise Reports 🎉Names by initials, same reason.
"A church that does not join the poor, in order to speak out from the side of the poor against the injustices committed against them, is not the true church of Jesus Christ." — Oscar Romero If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out via email: Aaron@LIFE2Cbus.org Aaron Ellington Founder/Director "Faith without [servanthood] is dead." |