New Salem Missionary Baptist to Host Senior Citizen Day

By Sarah Naron

Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND – New Salem Missionary Baptist Church will be hosting its second Senior Citizen Day on Saturday, May 19 on the property of George Pierson in Grapeland.

According to Pastor James Hall, the event is set to begin at 10 a.m. and will conclude at around 2 p.m.

Hall explained that the first Senior Citizens Day was held following the desire of the church members to become more active in community outreach.

“The mission department of the church wanted to get out and do some different things last year,” he said. “So, we talked with Mr. Pierson, and he let us set up there on his land, right across from the community housing.”

Hall explained that members of the church compiled and delivered bagged lunches consisting of barbecue sandwiches and chips to residents of the local area.

“As we were doing it, more people got the word out, and we delivered all day,” Hall remembered. “We had a ministry couple that came out and set up a tent. They played songs and showed videos and talked to people who wanted to hear the gospel.”

Representatives of Health Horizons of East Texas, Inc. were also on site for last year’s event, Hall divulged.

“We expect to have them back to do testing for communicable diseases – we do have a large issue with that in Houston County,” he said.

According to Hall, the most successful portion of the first Senior Citizens Day was the blood drive.

“We got a lot more people than they anticipated, and we really want to try to do two to three times more than we did last year,” he said.

“It’s just some community outreach and wanting to do something outside the walls of the church,” Hall explained.

The festivities will be set up at 326 S. Howard in Grapeland.