Candy cane give-away

We're all out.

Eight of us teamed up over the last few days to hand out candy canes tied to cards that publicize our next worship service (this Sunday night at 7 p.m. at 637 S. Dearborn). We probably handed out 1,500 of them all over the city on street corners and near L stops. Some observations:

**I was surprised that more people didn't take them. Maybe it was because I got better at it, but on Sunday when I went out only about a third of the people took them. On Tuesday, that went up a bit and then yesterday, it went to about half.

**There were very generally four types of people. First were the people who had their heads down and weren't going to look at me even if I was giving away $100 bills. Second were the people who were polite enough, made eye contact, but said no thank you. Third were the people who took the candy canes without breaking stride, like I was handing out water and they were running a marathon. Fourth were the people who were vocally appreciative, took the candy, and gave me a smile. Those folks were in the minority, but it still made me feel good.

**A few interesting stories, too. One woman asked me if this church was that "expatriate Methodist church." One man took a look at the card, read the phrase that said, "Love all," and said, "A church that loves all? I'll believe it when I see it." One other man looked at me and grudgingly took the candy cane as if to say, "Oh, alright, if it will make you feel better." A few folks were shocked that they were free.

**I have no idea how effective this will be--I guess we'll find out (hopefully) on Sunday, but the more I did it, the more I kind of enjoyed it. Even in the frigid weather we had yesterday.