Open Arms thanks donors
Open Arms Christian Ministries held a donor thank-you event Sunday, at the Greene County Event Center just across the highway from their campus in Switz City.
Held annually, the event serves as the organization’s opportunity to present its yearly report, celebrate its volunteers, announce news and needs and to thank all those who contributed the previous year, whether contributions came in the form of funding, time donations or material goods.
After the initial informational presentations, guests had the opportunity to hear short testimonies from people directly helped by Open Arms programs, including one young woman adopted by Executive Director Martin Corey and his wife, Director of Development, Sheila Corey.
“If it weren’t for Open Arms, I would not be here,” said the young lady. “This place saved my life, it actually saved my life.”
Guests were then treated to a performance by Kokomo comedian John Branyan, in keeping with the event theme, “For God Loves a Cheerful Giver.” Branyan’s apperance was sponsored by Redemption Christian Church.
Branyan delighted the crowd of over 100 guests, telling them to celebrate their own perceived faults and shortcomings, and to remember to laugh at themselves.
“We all do stupid things, no matter how hard we try not to. We try so hard to teach our kids to be smart, but eventually we all do something beautifully stupid,” he said.
Branyan said we are made in God’s image, and God has the best sense of humor of all.
Known as a ‘clean’ comedian, Branyan joked about several subjects, including the funny things his mother said when he was younger (‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat’ “Gross, mom, why do you KNOW that?”), a town in Arkansas named Flippin (‘Can you imagine, having to call the Flippin police to report a robbery at the Flippin bank?’), vacuum cleaners with headlights, Snuggies and the adventures of driving with his mom.
“Laugh at your failings,” he said. “Don’t keep your stupid to yourself.”
On the business side, Open Arms reported total income of $1,615,396 and expenses totaling $1,566,603.
The Open Arms Donor Thank-You event was sponsored by Redemption Christian Church, the Greene County Foundation, Dyar Real Estate and Powers Orthodontics.
