CHOCOWINITY — Members of one Beaufort County church left the warmth of the sanctuary to spread a little love throughout the community in celebration of Valentine’s Day.

Haw Branch Church of Christ in Chocowinity sent part of its congregation out into the cold to warm the hearts of those who had to work Sunday morning, according to church elder Shawn Harding.

“Every Sunday we have Krispy Kreme doughnuts at church, so we decided instead of staying in church and eating them ourselves we’d take them out into the community,” said Harding, who conceived the idea of doing the “doughnut ministry” and recruited fellow church members to help him. “It’s a little way of saying ‘thank you’ for being there and working.”

Armed with bagged doughnuts and Valentine cards, Harding’s Sunday School class at HBCC loaded up in cars and hit the streets. Teams visited several businesses in Chocowinity and a few in Washington.

“It’s something we’ve never done before but I think people appreciated it,” Harding said. “It’s in our thought process that we’ve got to get out and show some people more love. We’re calling it the ‘Share the Love’ outreach.”

Sunday’s mission just may be the start of something big at Haw Branch.

“If it’s successful, I hope it’s the first of many” such missions, Harding noted.

Chocowinity Food Lion cashier Alyssa Newman was one of the recipients of the church’s generosity. She said she didn’t mind working on a day considered extra special by many.

“I get to help everybody else with getting all their Valentine stuff,” she said after receiving a doughnut from HBCC members Stacie Kirkman and Kim Gurganus. “But this makes me feel good; it brightened my day actually.”

According to Kirkman and Gurganus, other Chocowinity stops included Food Pride, Mike’s Mini Mart, Dollar General, the fire department and police department.

While the recipients of the Valentine’s Day treats were grateful, Harding also hopes the outreach touched members of the church.

“The big emphasis on it is to get our people thinking differently as to what church is,” he said. “We all enjoy going and sitting down for Sunday school and church services, but we’ve got to do more than that.”