We've finalized our numbers for 2014, and now know precisely how many people we helped and how we helped them. On Tuesday night, we shared these results at our Annual Meeting.  The new Board President, The Reverend Patrick J. Miller from St. Mark's Episcopal Church, did some quick math during the meeting and then shared an interesting statistic:

If CCSC didn't exist, each of our 41 member churches would have been expected to help 1,600 Houstonians last year with food, basic needs, employment services, connections to other community resources, and/or the seasonal needs of children.

Each church working alone would be inefficient, especially considering how many of the churches are located near each other. CCSC's purpose is to be the local outreach office on behalf of each church, minimizing the duplication of services and creating a more efficient delivery system.

As we begin 2015, it's good to remember our purpose.

The picture below is of the stained glass in Bethany Christian Church. I'm sure it reflects a particular verse of scripture, but whenever I see a picture of Jesus with his hands open, I think he's telling us we should also have our hands open, ready to serve. Do you?