The 'Blue Bus' from Strongsville is On a Mission

Every week, volunteers ride into Cleveland to feed the hungry

  It's 5 p.m. on a Wednesday and starting to get dark. A good time to head home, get some dinner and relax. Not for Jerry Lawrence. He leaves his job as head custodian at Surrarrer School and heads over to the Strongville United Methodist Church, where he will spend the next four hours driving a blue bus loaded with food into some of Cleveland's poorer neighborhoods. "We stop at seven or eight different places -- in front of churches, a group home, CMHA property," said Lawrence, who has been driving the bus for the last three years. On a nice night, they'll feed 350 people. "If we see people walking down the street, we'll stop and ask if they're hungry," said Del Painting of Brunswick, who, with his wife, Jeanette, coordinates the mission…

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Church to Have 'Hometown Heroes' Concert

7 bands will play Saturday at Strongsville United Methodist

Strongsville United Methodist Church is hosting a Hometown Heroes concert featuring seven local bands Saturday. The show runs from 6 to about 10:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at the church, 13500 Royalton Rd. It's free and open to anyone, according to Matt Whisenhunt, church youth director. The concert will highlight local talent, featuring high school and college bands from Strongsville, Berea and Olmsted Falls. Food will be available for purchase. "The whole concert is a highlight of the local talent we have around the area," Whisenhunt said. "We are trying to show the community how much talent we have right in their own hometown." For more information, check out the event's Facebook page.

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Snapshot: Happy Halloweekend!

More than 200 parents and youngsters from around Strongsville dressed up for the annual United Methodist Church Halloween party

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Ready for the Rapture?

'Judgment Day' is Saturday, May 21, some believe

Saturday is Judgment Day, if you believe the billboards. Word is that at 6 p.m. May 21, the Rapture, when believers will be called into heaven and the rest will be left to endure earthquakes and other natural disasters until the world ends Oct. 21. Not sold? Neither is Abby Auman, associate pastor at Strongsville United Methodist Church. "Let's put it this way -- I wrote a sermon for Sunday," she said. So far, not one parishioner has come to her seeking reassurance about the supposed Judgment Day. "This has happened periodically through history, where someone says God has revealed hidden meaning in the Bible, which only they can discern," Auman said. This time, it's Harold Camping, 89, a radio evangelist who says he has calculated the date…

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