Illinois members raise funds at rodeo

ILLINOIS—Thousands of fans packed the seats, a stampede of bulls entered the arena, and 20 Philadelphia Church of God members served up concession stand chow the night of February 1 as a fundraiser for the Chicago, St. Louis and Wisconsin congregations. The Chicago Invitational, a professional rodeo event, drew 11,000 fans, who watched cowboys hang on to bucking bovines including Big Black, Smooth Wreck, Thunder On Hooves and others. Many of them were hungry enough to keep the pcg volunteers moving fast to hand out refreshments and process payments under the supervision of event organizer Jesse Delgado and Preaching Elder David Weeks. Member Donald Hoehn said, “It got pretty busy, but it was a fun experience and enjoyable serving the people.” Member Ashley Buckler said, “It was intense and very hectic, but it was fun. The night was awesome, and when it was said and done, we had just a howdy-doody great time at the Chicago rodeo.”