WORCESTER, Mass. — Jubilee Worcester considers themselves a “church without walls,” and they proved that throughout the city of Worcester during their “Code Blue in the City” service event.

“The building isn’t the church. The people are the church,” Pastor Wil Bullock said. “Part of our vision is to really serve the community. We want to be a church that’s not just in the community but part of the community.”

The church is new to the Worcester area, having started at Assumption College in May 2019. Since then, Jubilee Worcester has done multiple community outreach events over the past year including turkey giveaways, back-to-school drives, and food drive.

As part of “Code Blue in the City,” the group cleaned up Crompton Park and Milbury Street; supported the YMCA in a basketball tournament to honor four men who were shot a few years ago; partnered with the Worcester Alliance for Refugee Ministry (WARM) to help furnish a refugee family’s apartment; distributed pizzas and fruit to the homeless at Worcester Commons; and purchased groceries and gas for people across the city.

“It’s really for us a chance to spread love and spread joy because that’s what we feel like we’ve been called to do as a church,” Bullock said. “We’re not looking for anything from anybody. We’re just simply trying to serve the city.”

Jubilee Worcester hosted a similar event to “Code Blue in the City” in 2019. With the pandemic, the give back program had to be paused for a year, but Bullock said the 2021 event was set to be bigger than before.

“The purpose of it is to come out of the four walls of the community and to serve the community we are in,” Bullock said. “Normally we do this at all three of the communities — Boston, Stoughton, and Worcester. But this year we decided to just focus on Worcester.”

Bullock said that he grew up in an environment where being active in the community was important. This spurred his passion for community outreach and service, and now as a pastor, he wants to continue to spread this message.

“I just think the church is uniquely positioned to really serve the places we are in,” Bullock said. “Every single Sunday or Monday or Tuesday or whenever, people are just online or come to our services, with a goal is to inspire, give hope, and spread love. But I think there’s another part to it, and that’s to be physically present in the community.”

Bullock said that this means that people aren’t just going to a church, but that the church is going to the people. Throughout the pandemic, Bullock said that the church was able to use streaming to safely connect to their community.

“I really feel like as challenging as it’s been to plan a church in this season, it’s actually been a blessing,” Bullock said. “We’ve had a chance to reimagine what church is and what it means to be a church.”

This is where the random acts of kindness as well as words of encouragement come into play.

“We believe that the church has been called to be the hand and feet of Christ. What we do for people who are poor, for people who are widows, for people who don’t have a lot, we are actually doing for God as well,” Bullock said. “It’s a part of what we’re required to do.”

Bullock also added that events like “Code Blue in the City” bring out teachings like “love thy neighbor as thyself” as well as the promise to spread good news and the word of the gospel.

“The story of Jesus Christ is one of hope. It’s one of love. It’s one of a second chance,” Bullock said. “I think sometimes we look at that and we interpret it as just what we say from a pulpit. But it’s really deeper than that.”

Bullock said this is why the church must go out and do good deeds. By being a part of their community, the parish is able to model the stories they read every Sunday, rather than just speak it.

To donate to Jubilee Church, visit jubileeworcester.org.