The Youngest Members of Dennis Union Church Reach Out To Soldiers
Girls send cookies to sweeten Coffee House Ministry
 "What's a cup of coffee without a cookie?" asks Jane Hargreaves of the Dennis Union Church.
Hargreaves raised this question with members of three Girl Scout Troops that meet at Dennis Union and include many girls from the church, and they happily joined in a special project to send 19 cases of Girl Scout cookies to Holy Joe's Café, a UCC sponsored program for U.S. military troops overseas.
This "coffee house ministry" helps military chaplains invite U.S. soldiers into a safe and informal place where they can receive spiritual care and good coffee.
According to the project's website page: "Coffee may be an unlikely ally of the Gospel, yet in the hands of a chaplain it can enable meaningful ministry addressing an individual's normal reactions to extreme situations. By offering a place to come and relax, the 'Coffee House and Café Ministries' provide our military chaplains a place to establish rapport with and minister to the needs of our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives -- our troops."
Hargreaves, leader of the Girl Scout Teen Troop 679, thought it would be nice to ensure that the U.S. soldiers who took part in the coffee house got 'home-town' desserts with their coffee. So the three troops at the church -- the Teen Troop and Brownies Troops 300 & 1319 -- began specifically asking for donations for Holy Joe's at their cookie booth sales, and while selling cookies during the church's coffee hour following morning worship service.
"We really, really pushed cookies for the troops," said Hargreaves. "We were fully supported by the congregation and were amazed at how many people from the community wanted to contribute to the cause."
In addition to the 19 cases for Holy Joe's sent by the three troops, Teen Troop 679 sent another three cases to soldiers in Iraq who have family members in Dennis Union.
To save on shipping and handling for the 19 cases going to the UCC program, one of the leaders, Bo Bowen, drove them to Holy Joe's warehouse in Connecticut. The teen troop paid the shipping for two of the cases going to specific soldiers, and the Youth Group paid for the third, which was going to a soldier who they have been supporting in other ways.
"Our Girl Scout pledge is: 'On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, to help people at all times and to live by the Girl Scout Law,'" said Hargreaves. "As you can see, God comes first. Our troops are blessed with many young ladies of courage, character and confidence. What better way for these young women to honor that pledge than to serve God in a way that helps UCC's mission to aid our soldiers serving overseas?"
The project was such a great success that they are planning to do it again when the next Girl Scout cookie season starts in Jan. 2009. "A cookie with coffee is a good idea, and we were delighted to help," said Hargreaves. "Nothing says home like a Girl Scout thin mint."
You can reach staff at Dennis Union Church, located at Route 6A and Old Bass River Rd., in Dennis, MA at (508)385-3543 or e-mail: duchurch@verizon.net.
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