What Jesus would do

“Let’s walk the talk.” That was Senior Pastor Steve Schibsted’s exhortation to his congregation at Bidwell Presbyterian Church last Sunday (Oct. 11), as he urged members to participate in this Sunday’s LoveChico event. If Jesus could heal the sick and wash the feet of the poor, he suggested, modern-day Christians can skip church once a year to do good work in their community.

Last year four churches, including Bidwell Presbyterian, participated in the initial LoveChico event; this year the number has jumped to 19. The idea is that, instead of putting on their “Sunday best” and going to church to hear an uplifting message, churchgoers will don jeans and sweatshirts and give back to the community by fixing up local parks, schools and nonprofit agencies.

There will be a cleanup, inside and out, at the Chico branch of the county library, for example. Hundreds of volunteers will deploy to Fairview High School, Bidwell Junior and city parks to do much-needed cleanup and maintenance work. Many projects are family-friendly and open to children.

This is a truly Christian thing to do. It’s fully in the spirit of Jesus Christ, who saw that all people are God’s children and whose message was to love one’s neighbor as oneself.

We applaud the churches and urge their members to participate in this expression of love for Chico. And we look forward to seeing thousands of people all over town working to make this a better place, and to joining them at 1 p.m. in the City Plaza for an all-church worship service.