MANSFIELD, Ohio — As part of Light Our City–a community-wide outreach event–a carnival will be held Saturday, July 25 from 3-7 p.m. at Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center.
The Light Our City Carnival is being organized by The Gate, a young adult group at Berean Baptist Church in Mansfield.
Games and activities, such as corn hole, water balloon toss, dart throw, milk jug toss, dunk tank, bounce house, face painting, grab-a-duck and a ping pong fish bowl game, will be available for people to play. There will also be refreshments, including popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs and Jones’ potato chips.
Each attendee will receive ten free tickets for food and games. Additional tickets can be purchased (four tickets for $1).
In advance of this event, Berean and Ocie Hill are selling tickets for $1 each through Friday, July 24. The purchased tickets will allow attendees to participate in activities and eat food at no additional cost. To buy tickets, call Ocie Hill at 419-524-2626 or Berean at 419-756-5082.
Proceeds will go toward improvement projects at Ocie Hill, which is located at 445 Bowman St. in Mansfield. Lisa Hall, Ocie Hill director, said she would like some of the money to be used for the gym “because the gym is the community’s and once it’s clean and put together, we’re going to present it back to the community,” she said.
Melissa Benjamin, director of The Gate, explained why she felt prompted to partner with Ocie Hill for this event. She said she wants to help Hall with her goal of making Ocie Hill a better place for the community to enjoy. “I know her heart for this place and the community,” Benjamin said of Hall.
She added, “I feel like the Lord laid this on my heart. We as The Gate are all about being in the community and showing the love of Christ to others and being His hands and feet wherever He so chooses to place us.”
The same day of the carnival, members of Berean Baptist Church will carry out various service projects at residential homes in the area, as well as at Ocie Hill. Hall anticipates that the volunteers will help with painting the hallways and restrooms, cleaning the bleachers in the gym, among other projects.
“We’re thrilled,” Hall said. “Not only to have the assistance with the work, but to have the carnival that’s actually giving to the families in the community. That’s huge.”
The carnival and service projects on July 25 are just two of several projects associated with this year’s Light Our City.
Jerry Laudermilk, pastor at Abundant Life Tabernacle and facilitator of Light Our City, explained that impacting the local community in a positive way through acts of service is just one of the goals of Light Our City. Other goals include uniting all believers in Christ across racial, denominational and generational barriers, as well as shining the love and light of Jesus to others.
Now in its third year, Light Our City currently involves around 50 churches. It kicked off June 27 and ends Aug. 29, though another project (possibly multiple) will be completed after Light Our City’s official end, Laudermilk said.
Light Our City’s mission is based on the passage of scripture in the Bible, Matthew 5:14-16, which reads, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
“From that we have taken this approach that we will go into the community and do good works, said Laudermilk.
“We’re not doing this for ourselves–it’s about bringing glory to God.”
