Over the past weekend Methodist churches all across Missouri participated in a very special event.

 Throughout the whole day Saturday, many Methodist church members were a service to others in what was called Serve 2012.

 All ages participated in the good deeds throughout the day. The Dexter Methodist Church participated in many different services on Saturday.

 To start off the day of servicing others, the church had the “blessing of the pets.” Pets were brought into church that morning, and had a blessing said over them. This is not something you may hear of happening every day, but it’s something that touches the hearts of a lot of people.

 One of the other things the church did during the day was serving lunch to the local police officers, the firefighters, and ambulance workers.

 Men of the church washed windows at a local gas station. The youth collected food for the Stoddard County Gospel Mission to help provide food for needy families in the local area.

 The Methodist Church of Dexter has a very active, and very talented choir. The choir is under the direction of Mary Ruth Boone. On Saturday the choir traveled to Cypress Point, Crowley Ridge, Golden Living Center, and ended their day by singing to the residents at Central Gardens Residential Care Facility. The residents at each facility enjoyed a variety of songs delivered by the choir.

 Members of the choir singing who participated in Serve 2012 were the following: Mayor Joe Weber, Wayne Freeman, Dee Wamble, Anna Beth Miller, Floyd Polsgrove, Shirley Alexander, Joan Lee, Loretta Reed, Jerry Overall, Jonny and Don Martin, Sandy Cazee, Matthew and Emma Cazee, Jamie Jackson, Tammy Bird, Kaye Plummer, Karen Lane, and Michelle Lane. All in which were under the direction of Mary Ruth Boone.

 The group participating in Serve 2012 could have been spotted Saturday wearing their bright orange shirts with the words “Serve 2012” on the front of them.

 Anyone who happened to be affected by this great event Saturday, whether just seeing them from a distance, or by being directly serviced from them, was sure to have a smile on their face at least for a little bit.

 This is a wonderful way to positively affect not only just our community, but also the whole state of Missouri. Hopefully this is a tradition that will continue throughout many years.

 Not only were the people receiving the services in good spirits, but everyone participating in Serve 2012 did each of the services with a smile on their face.

 Serve 2012 was definitely a blessing to many people all across the state of Missouri.

 Pictured in the photo are members in the choir singing at Central Gardens in Dexter, Missouri.