Two Hundred and Fifty
by Tandy Graham
Two hundred and fifty is a lot of anything. Two hundred and fifty people can do a lot of
good deeds. Two hundred and fifty meals can feed a lot of hungry folks. Two hundred and
fifty dresses for little girls in Africa can bring joy to many – those that make them and
those who wear them.
Two hundred and fifty years is a long time and Providence Presbyterian Church in
south Charlotte, North Carolina has just turned 250 years old, older than our country, and
a year-long celebration marking this milestone was inspiration for a lot of two hundred and
fifties. Two hundred and fifty acts of service in Charlotte over one week’s time; two
hundred and fifty thousand
Rise Against Hunger meals packed one Sunday afternoon by
church members; a home-made luncheon of baked chicken, salad and dessert served in
one hour’s time to two hundred and fifty Presbytery members; two hundred and fifty bags
of toiletries assembled by our twelve Salvation Army Center of Hope guests who stayed
with us for two weeks and then distributed them amongst two hundred and fifty homeless
people like themselves on the streets of Charlotte. Most visible were 250 little dresses
lovingly sewn by various members of the church for African girls.
With each stitch and turn of the sewing machine, prayers were said that these two
hundred and fifty dresses would make two hundred and fifty little hearts soar.
