After the conclusion of the 10:30 service on Sunday, June 5th, fifty-seven members of the St. John’s congregation trooped from the sanctuary to the parish hall to assemble the ingredients for over 10,000 meals. These packaged meals will be shipped to Central America and West Africa, feeding hungry children in orphanages and schools! Before giving instruction as to how to assemble, package, weigh, seal and box the dehydrated ingredients, “Stop Hunger Now” staff member David Swenson reminded us that Jesus told his followers that when we feed the least among us we feed him!
It took our volunteers just two hours, with breaks for pizza and lemonade, to fill the 47 shipping boxes containing the 10,152 dehydrated meals of soy protein, vegetables, rice and vitamins. Church member Ken Kline coordinated the effort, including volunteer recruitment, liaison with the “Stop Hunger Now” organization, setup and takedown, and refreshments for the volunteers. The project cost was $2,944, which came from the church outreach budget, the Charitable Trust fund and the direct contributions of members. This was a fun and meaningful event that brought out all the generations of our congregation to do mission on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!
Originally published in St. John’s Epistle, July & August 2016.