Linking Communities through ESL

We have one more ministry blog we want to let everyone know about. For the past few months, BUMC has offered English as a Second Language classes to the community. When this outreach was first being discussed, many of us on staff thought it would appeal primarily to native Spanish speakers. When we started taking registrations for the class, though, we saw that not only was it attracting Latinos, but people from China, India, Eritrea, Korea, Albania... neighbors who we may not see on a regular basis as we traverse our familiar routes from home to work, to church, to the grocery store, to school, to soccer practice. All it took was for someone with the know-how and a heart for helping people learn a basic skill for success in America for these neighbors to seek us out.

That "someone" is Shereen Fink, who has been a faithful member of BUMC for years, serving in various capacities. She brought the idea of offering ESL classes to us, and the program has blossomed into a beautiful expression of how we can work to meet the needs of God's family wherever they may be. Shereen maintains a blog called Linking Communities through ESL, on which she shares updates and stories about the program, teachers, volunteers, and the students who attend faithfully, even during blizzards! We invite you to check Shereen's blog frequently, especially if you get inspired hearing about how BUMC is working in our own backyard.