XENIA, Ohio -- Economic concerns about rising fuel prices prompted two churches to lend a helping hand to motorists in their vicinities over the weekend.
On Saturday, for two hours, Xenia Christian Center covered 25 cents of the cost for every gallon of gasoline customers purchased at a Xenia, Ohio, United Dairy Farmers (UDF) gas station and convenience store, reported The Dayton Daily News.
The station served about 300 customers during the two hours that the church was helping pay for fuel, Bill Bales, zone manager for UDF, told the newspaper. The church picked up $375 worth of [image-nocss] the cost and also bought about $500 worth of $1 UDF coupons and gave them to customers, according to Wesley Miller, pastor of Xenia Christian Center.
Church volunteers also handed customers invitations to Easter Sunday services.
And in Jacksonville, Fla., the Murray Hill Baptist Church on Saturday hosted a "gas buydown," reported The First Coast News.
From 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., a gallon of regular unleaded was only $2.76 because of the church's event. It paid 50 cents a gallon for about 175 customers, said the report.
Pastor Doug Axtell told the newspaper that the congregation saw this as a perfect opportunity to give back to the community once they saw gasoline prices spike. "It's a big need right now; gas prices are so expensive and high. We figured it out. It's saving people $6 or $8, but that's egg money or bread money," he said. "If this could just help a few families get through the week or through the month, man, it's great."
By the end of the two hours, the church paid more than $1,000 for more than 2,000 gallons of gasoline, the report said.
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