Contest between churches scores tons of food
A good-natured competition between two United Methodist churches in Edmond ended with Skyline Urban Ministries the winner — gaining 17.3 tons of food to help nourish those who are hungry in the Oklahoma City area.
During Lent, Edmond-First and Edmond-New Covenant challenged each other to see how much food their members could collect for donation to Skyline.
In all, the churches donated 34,626 pounds of food, which adds up to 17.3 tons of food.
The drive started Feb. 14 and ended on Palm Sunday, March 20.
New Covenant’s total collection averaged 29 pounds per person; First Church’s donations topped that, averaging 31 pounds per person.
Each week of the contest, the Skyline van picked up the food and took it in to be weighed. Pictures of the piles of groceries were posted on Skyline’s Facebook page so members could "like" how each church was participating in mission, said Debbie Ingraham, director of Skyline.
Rev. Ingraham praised the two churches for their efforts. "Maybe some other churches will be inspired," she said.