On Sunday, Alpharetta Pastor Don Martin will be chest high in Oreo cookies.
It’s not some sweets binge.
The senior pastor will lead the annual Patriotic Sunday and Operation Oreo dedication at Alpharetta First United Methodist Church.
Church members and strangers alike will bring packages of Oreo cookies to 69 N. Main St.. From there, the creme-filled sandwich cookies will be shipped to U.S. troops around the world.
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In 2009, the first year of the drive, the 5,400-member church collected more than 2,200 packages of cookies. Last year, they collected more than 4.7 tons.
“We don’t count packages anymore,” he said. “We count tons."
Anything collected over five tons will be donated to the Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur.
Services are 8:15 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
The idea was hatched several years ago when Martin found himself seated next to a uniformed soldier on a plane to Phoenix.
They chatted and Martin asked him what did he miss most about home.
The answer was simple: Oreos, double stuffed.
“I told him, ‘Partner, I’m pastor of the finest Methodist church in all of Christendom” and he had a plan. When he returned he asked his congregation to bring Oreo cookies to send to the guy’s buddies.
The idea caught fire. Now donors include other churches, businesses and individuals.
“It’s wonderful,” he said.
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