Mission:1

Day 11 of 11 – Mission:1… to feed the hungry and confront food related injustices

We are so grateful for your participation these 11 days for Mission:1.  Since we have engaged in this mission with sibling UCC persons and congregations from around the denomination, we want to connect you on this final day.

Please follow these hyperlinks (or copy and paste them into your browser) so you will experience the Spirit that weaves us together.

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=6EIF7krZ-JuyAWojm8kHVw

 

Mission:1

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=jcBB7zVQKrsRwNHTuqvXVA

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=itS1dgCkHWh_m-7w4voS6A

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=iIrkty3du017WGvs5c5bvQ

 

Write A Letter to Congress

 

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=X92jg_PIYOen-b_pFLTyZg

 

As of 11:11 a.m. (ET) on Day 11 of Mission: 1, we’ve received 1802 ‘report your efforts’ submissions. Remember, you can report partial results along the way.  This tally board will remain up until 8 a.m.

Monday morning, Nov. 14.

 

PAYING IT FORWARD WITH MISSION:1

 

Cleveland UCC church, local farms nurture Mission:1 year-round.

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=pSbWBC5fIBD6Woe1oKEu3w

 

JUST EATING?

Lessons learned about hunger, food and faith.

 

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=hZPG0tAT-2Sdo4JgwPOH1Q

 

STAND UP FOR HUNGRY FAMILIES

 

45.3 million Americans rely on Food Stamps. Tell Congress not to cut this vital program.

 

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=_cq4jr9G3DqTMszvxCtX6A

 

BLESS! WITH US THIS AFTERNOON!

Join us TODAY AT 4 p.m. for a live webstreaming service of blessing to celebrate and conclude Mission:1.

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=dR0Qwci_h453Z3_zGgKNqQ

 

LIVING INTO ‘THAT WE MAY ALL BE 1′

Florida Conference Minister Kent Siladi believes we’ve made a measurable difference together.

 

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=j5_zllQ1xQee2EfzYcDZKA

 

spotlight

 

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=Lr0FlOg57kLq-ODdn-J2yw

 

HEADLINES

Local pastor to walk 111 miles for the fight against hunger

 

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=jYhxYpXn69qOhDsezDWgNQ

 

Illinois church’s mission – feeding hungry

 

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=8WS_y3NllKwCEPrxQ2Vh7w

 

MISSION:1 CLEVELAND

 

St. Pauls Food Pantry and Kitchen

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=aGUNMCcwqAk6XdzFf5BZuw

 

***

ONE ADDITIONAL PIECE re: VETERANS DAY ….

http://act.ucc.org/site/R?i=KNSoqX77WwU-xertlo7h_Q

 

 

***

As you know, we are inviting PUCCers to set a goal of donating $11 for East Africa Famine Relief [checks payable to Parkway UCC with Mission:1 in the memo line] and 11 non-perishable food items for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.  We will receive your gifts thru this Sunday, November 13^th

Thank you!  See you Sunday at 9:30am or 11am.

Blessings!

Kevin

Day 10 of 11 – Mission:1… to feed the hungry and confront food related injustices

We’re running out of time – only one day left.  There’s so much more we want to share with you.  So, here is a smorgasboard……

 

Out with the pyramid; in with the plate!  You’ve thought about the food pyramid for decades, haven’t you?  Well, it has been transformed into a plate.  Visit mypyramid.gov and you will be automatically transported to choosemyplate.gov which has an incredible portion of really helpful information – really!  You could get lost in this site…. so just take a few small bites at a time and revisit often.

 

John 13:4-14  (Even at the table, Jesus was teaching incredible lessons of love!)

     ⁴Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. ⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”⁷Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”¹⁰Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”¹¹For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”¹²After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. ¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

 

“17 million American children go to bed hungry.  Help us feed them.”          (Source: Share Our Strength.)

 

“Hunger and malnutrition are the number one risk to health worldwide – greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Among the key causes of hunger are natural disasters, conflict, poverty, poor agricultural infrastructure and over-exploitation of the environment.  Recently, financial and economic crises have pushed more people into hunger.”  (Source: United Nations World Food Program.)

 

“Many of us know that the first 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday are crucial to the child’s development and future well-being. But not everyone knows that. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a group of doctors and local volunteers are educating women about the importance of proper nutrition for mothers and their children.”

“What makes me happy is knowing that if I help my people, they’re going to benefit,” said Mukobe Kabaila, one of the volunteers. “I would like them to live well, with good health and education.”  (Source: Bread for the World.)

“Advice for those who have food and may eat too much -  ourselves:  “Bulk up your meals.  There’s lots of  evidence that bulk – that is, fiber – reduces appetite.  So turn up the volume with higher-fiber foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.  These foods also tend to have a high water content, which helps you feel full.”  (Source: WebMD.)

 

“I think if the church did what they were supposed to do we wouldn’t have anyone sleeping on the streets.” – Michael W. Smith, 20th century

 

“My call for a spiritual revolution is thus not a call for a religious revolution. Nor is it a reference to a way of life that is somehow other-worldly, still less to something magical or mysterious. Rather, it is a call for a radical re-orientation away from our habitual preoccupation with self towards concern for the wider community of beings with whom we are connected, and for conduct which recognizes others’ interests alongside our own.” – The Dalai Lama, 21st century

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. – M. Scott Peck, 20th century

 

It is time to consider again what a successful life really looks like. If it’s about achievement, what have we achieved that will last beyond the power to rust or break or steal it? A world built on prestige and social status has distorted the very idea of success. It is not what we have done that is important. It is whether or not anything we did was worth doing. Worth it for someone else, that is. Worth it for those who are starving or homeless or sick today.  – Joan Chittister, 21st century

 

The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all God’s children. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 20th century

***

As you know, we are inviting PUCCers to set a goal of donating $11 for East Africa Famine Relief and 11 non-perishable food items for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.  We will receive your gifts thru this Sunday, November 13^th  Please feel free to drop off your financial and food gifts at church anytime [checks payable to Parkway UCC with Mission:1 in the memo line]. The food can go into the sanctuary on the chancel steps with the other items that are already there.  You can give your $ to Mona in the office or slip it under the door to her office.  If you are donating food items elsewhere, please let us know so we may add that toward our goal of 1,111 non-perishables…. We are within 200 items of our goal!   Keep ‘em coning!? Thank you!

(This just came in my inbox from someone …. It’s good to know that so many people are standing up for those who are hungry!  Vrooom!) http://www.razoo.com/p/Drive-To-End-Hunger

Thank you!

Blessings!

Kevin

Day 9 of 11 — Mission:1… to feed the hungry and confront food related injustices!

When I was in Cork, Ireland for my junior year of college, we had a noticeable walk of about two miles to get to a laundromat.  Every couple of weeks, I loaded up my large backpack and weathered the walk that was often wet.  There were a number of interesting and even breathtaking sites along the way.  One heartbreak was the young sibling group that was always begging for money as we walked amid the shops on the main street.  After talking with friends about this situation, I began to carry apples with me on laundry day.  After a couple weeks of receiving the apples, one of the boys told me that he was going to be in trouble if he brought home apples instead of cash.  I asked him if he liked the apples and he said that he did. I told him that was what I had to offer – that he could take it or leave it.

I have thought about that little boy and his family many times over these 25 years.  I wonder what became of them.

I often think about what I have to give.  Am I more focused on what I want to give or what is needed?  When is the giving about me and when is it about the one in need?

How do you decide what to give – who? what? where? when? why? how?

*****

As you know, we have invited PUCCers to set a goal of donating at least $11 for East Africa Famine Relief and 11 non-perishable food items for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.  We will receive your gifts thru next Sunday, November 13^th  Please feel free to drop off your financial and food gifts at church anytime [checks payable to Parkway UCC with Mission:1 in the memo line]. The food can go into the sanctuary on the chancel steps with the other items that are already there.  You can give your $ to Mona in the office or slip it under the door to her office.  If you are donating food items elsewhere, please let us know so we may add that toward our goal of 1,111 non-perishables.

 

Our confirmation youth counted the food items on Sunday night and we are well over halfway there!  There is still time for you to make your donations.  A number of people have dropped off their gifts during the week.  THANK YOU!

*****

 

Reminder: Town Hall Meeting on Hunger                                                                   at First Congregational UCC on Wydown in St Louis TONIGHT!

“Food Is the First Medicine”

A Townhall Meeting for People of Faith,

Responding to Hunger in Africa & in St. Louis

Epiphany UCC and First Congregational UCC invite you to a Town Hall meeting  on November 9th at First Congregational, 6501 Wydown Blvd., at 7 p.m. Childcare is available.

This Town Hall event is a bi-partisan conversation on the topic of food justice — both locally (Glen Koenan will address this)and internationally (Clint McCann will speak on behalf of Bread for the World and Gedlu Metaferia will speak about how the famine is being experienced in Africa).

Representatives from the offices of Senators Blunt and McCaskill and Congressmen Akin, Clay and Carnahan will offer their responses.

This is a great opportunity to address the food justice component of the Mission:1 program, and I hope we can gather lots of support from people of faith to learn about current issues. It will also send a message to our elected leaders how much people of faith care about federal support of national and international food justice.

Details:

• Hosted by Epiphany United Church of Christ (UCC) & 1st Cong (UCC)
• Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 7-9 p.m.
• At 6501 Wydown Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63105-2215

Speakers:

• Glenn Koenen, Executive Director, Circle of Concern
• Gedlu Metaferia, Executive Director, African Mutual Aid Association of Missouri
• Clint McCann, Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Eden Theological Seminary (representing Bread for the World)

Responses from Elected Officials:

• John W. Scates, Community Liaison, Office of Sen. Roy Blunt
• Mattie Moore, Deputy Regional Director, Office of Sen. Claire McCaskill
• Congressman Todd Akin (Awaiting Confirmation)
• Office of Congressman Russ Carnahan (Confirmed)
• Congressman William L. Clay Jr. (Awaiting Confirmation)

On Site Childcare Available (call 314-772-0263 to register)

No Admission Fee; Food Collection for Joint Neighborhood Ministry

For More Information: 314-775-8940

 

Thank you!

Blessings!

Kevin

Day 8 of 11 — Mission:1… to feed the hungry and confront food related injustices

Abundance or Scarcity?

 

“Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;

Your children will be like olive shoots around the table.” – Psalm 128

 

-  Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver

 

So much of our scripture is a celebration of abundance. The

first chapters of Genesis are a song of praise for God’s

generosity.  With each act of creation, the divine refrain is,

“It is good, it is good, it is very good.”  And it pictures the

Creator saying, “Be fruitful and multiply.”

 

Many of the Psalms, including the one for today, survey creation and

catalogue this abundance in loving detail and with joyful

thanksgiving.

 

Then, in the Gospels, Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes so that there

is more than enough for everyone.  At a wedding feast he turns

water into wine, and more wine than could be consumed at a dozen

weddings.  These highly symbolic stories speak of God’s

abundance.  There is enough, there is more than enough.

 

That’s the biblical narrative.  But the narrative by which

we are tempted to live is another story entirely, a story of scarcity,

where there is never enough.  In fact, we are tempted to define

enough as, “always something more than I have now.”

 

In spite of all that has happened in recent months, we still live in

the most prosperous country in the history of the world.

 

Do you live out of a sense of abundance or scarcity?  That may be

an economic question, but certainly it is a faith question.

 

Prayer: O God, when I count your blessings, they are numberless as the sands,

so I confess that I don’t always get very far with my counting.

So I simply thank you for sharing your abundance with me.  Amen.

 

- Martin Copenhaver, Senior Pastor, Wellesley Congregational

Church, United Church of Christ, Wellesley, Massachusetts.

 

[Please consider signing up for the UCC Daily Devotional at

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The Stillspeaking Daily Devotional is a free service and is supported

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As you know, we are inviting PUCCers to set a goal of donating $11 for East Africa Famine Relief and 11 non-perishable food items for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.  We will receive your gifts thru next Sunday, November 13^th  Please feel free to drop off your financial and food gifts at church anytime [checks payable to Parkway UCC with Mission:1 in the memo line]. The food can go into the sanctuary on the chancel steps with the other items that are already there.  You can give your $ to Mona in the office or slip it under the door to her office.  If you are donating food items elsewhere, please let us know so we may add that toward our goal of 1,111 non-perishables.

 

Our confirmation youth counted the food items on Sunday night and we are well over halfway there!  There is still time for you to make your donations.

Thank you!

Blessings!

Kevin

Day 7 of 11 — Mission:1… to feed the hungry and confront food related injustices

One of our scripture readings yesterday in the Historic Sanctuary was from Matthew – The Beattitudes.  Based on the idea of blessed expressed there, our UCC has come up with these 11 blessings.  Please light a candle as you ponder and pray these words …..

Blessed is the earth

“I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”  ~ Genesis

We humbly lift up prayers of blessings upon the earth that the Holy One has provided for us. May we sow and harvest the land in a way that is pleasing to God. May we use what the earth has produced to bless those in need – those who come to us with outstretched hands.

 

Blessed is the laborer

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
~Matthew 11:28
We could not harvest what God has given us if not for the hands and feet of the farmer…the laborer. We pray for all who labor and toil in the fields and give thanks for those who work the land for the benefit of the common good.

 

Blessed are those who know hunger

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”  ~Gandhi
Around the world, and around the corner, there are far too many hungry people… we pray, O God, for blessings to be poured out on them. May you fill their cups and sustain them. We also pray for those who desire to help – may you provide them a way to do that.

 

Blessed are those who provide

“Food – there”s no greater gift…”~Dikembe Mutombo
Whether it’s the single mother working two jobs so her children can eat, or the church that opens its food pantry every week: we pray for all who provide for their families, friends  and those in need.

 

Blessed are the innovators

“Why should there be hunger and deprivation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life?” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
For those minds who create innovative ways to grow and provide easier and more affordable access to food, we offer blessings and prayers….we pray that such innovation will continue until no person suffers from hunger.

 

Blessed are the volunteers

“As we give of our time, talents and resources to tend the needs of the sick, offer food to the hungry and teach the dependent to stand on their own, we enrich ourselves spiritually beyond our ability to comprehend.”
~Joseph B. Wirthlin
For those who give their time so freely and have a willing heart to serve, we offer prayers of blessing and thanksgiving – the world’s volunteers are a gracious reminder that the war on hunger can be won, as long as we do it together.

 

Blessed are the preparers

“The freedom of man, I contend, is the freedom to eat.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
For every meal that is served, there is someone who prepared it — we pray and ask for blessings upon those who prepare the meal, and remember with gratitude the hands and hearts at work.

 

Blessed are the servers

“Well-fed people can enhance their dignity, their health and their learning capacity.” ~Luiz Lula da Silva
From the fast food register to the diner on the corner, many people find their source of food by working in food service.  We pray for those who serve. For all the cashiers, bus-persons, hostesses and waiters, may we remember their need for food as they attend to ours.

 

Blessed are the givers

“If you want to eliminate hunger, everybody has to be involved.” ~Bono
For every item of food donated and every dollar given, a person who is hungry can be fed — we thank those who give to food programs around the world and down the street. We are thankful for whatever is donated, no matter the amount!

 

Blessed are those who must fight for food

“All sorrows are less with bread.” ~Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote
We remember that for many, the journey to acquire food runs straight through a war-zone, and the ability to eat comes at the expense of someone’s life.  We pray and ask blessings for those who must risk their lives for a piece of bread

 

Blessed are those who fight on behalf of the hungry

“The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.”

~John F. Kennedy
From the lobbyists to the protestor, from the silent supporter to the freedom fighter, we pray for all who fight on behalf of the hungry. We ask that their work be blessed by God so that they may continue to fight for those who go to sleep each night hungry.

As you know, we are inviting PUCCers to set a goal of donating $11 for East Africa Famine Relief and 11 non-perishable food items for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.  We will receive your gifts thru next Sunday, November 13^th  Please feel free to drop off your financial and food gifts at church anytime [checks payable to Parkway UCC with Mission:1 in the memo line]. The food can go into the sanctuary on the chancel steps with the other items that are already there.  You can give your $ to Mona in the office or slip it under the door to her office.  If you are donating food items elsewhere, please let us know so we may add that toward our goal of 1,111 non-perishables.

 

Our confirmation youth counted the food items last night and we are well over halfway there!  There is still time for you to make your donations.

Thank you!

Blessings!

Kevin

WELL OVER HALFWAY WITH OUR 1,111 non-perishable food items!  Thanks!

 

As part of Mission:1 and good use of our renewed kitchen, a group of Parkway members and friends are interested in helping a food pantry in St Louis City which serves lunch to about 70 people each Wednesday.  We have been invited to provide dessert once each month.  If a Parkway Kitchen Krew could be organized to work in our kitchen: devise recipes, make donations of ingredients, and bake, we could begin the project in January or sooner.  If interested, please contact Carol Cobb ccjcobb@aol.com or 314 965-4147.

 

As you know, we are inviting PUCCers to set a goal of donating $11 for East Africa Famine Relief and 11 non-perishable food items***  for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.  We will receive your gifts thru Sunday, November 13^th  Please feel free to drop off your financial and food gifts at church anytime [checks payable to Parkway UCC with Mission:1 in the memo line]. The food can go into the sanctuary on the chancel steps with the other items that are already there.  You can give your $ to Mona in the office or slip it under the door to her office.  If you are donating food items elsewhere, please let us know so we may add that toward our goal of 1,111 non-perishables.

 

Our confirmation youth counted the food items tonight and we are well over halfway there!  There is still time for you to make your donations.  Help us meet or exceed 1,111 items!

 

*** A church member was walking out of church this morning and handed me a receipt from Aldi.  At first I thought he was asking for a reimbursement of some kind.  What was amazing was that he had purchased 11 items (green beans, asparagus, carrots, cream corn, pork & beans, chili, spinach, butter beans, some kind of meat and two tins of tuna) and gave the cashier a $20 and received $11.11 in change.  Wow!  Imagine how often the Spirit is bringing things to our attention and we don’t even receive them!?

 

Thank you!

 

Blessings!

Kevin

One of our mission partners is CWS: Church World Service.  Here is a report from a recent email I received –

A severe drought has killed crops and livestock across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, leaving more than 13 million people without enough food.

The United Nations has declared that southern Somalia is in the midst of famine – a situation so bad that more than 3 in 10 children are acutely malnourished.

CWS and the ACT Alliance are providing food and other essential aid, reaching people in country and in the enormous camps along the borders.

PUCC has set a goal that each individual/family will donate $11 for CWS East Africa Famine Relief in these first 11 days in November. Please support this vital, life-saving work.  Then tell Congress to protect foreign aid and the lives it saves.  Spread the word. We will receive your gifts on Sunday — checks payable to Parkway UCC with Mission:1 in the memo line.

 

We also have a dream that each individual/family will bring 11 non-perishable food items to church.  If you are donating food items elsewhere, please let us know so we may add that toward our goal of 1,111 non-perishables.   

 

See you tomorrow morning in the Historic Sanctuary at 9:30am or 11am

(Reminder: change your clocks – back one hour …. yahoooooo).

 

Daniel Bett, pastor in The Reformed Church of East Africa and student at Eden Seminary, will be with us to share a Mission Moment about his experiences at home.

 

Thank you for your participation in Mission:1!

 

Blessings!

Kevin

We have spent some time talking about feeding the hungry.  Now we turn to confronting food related injustices…

It’s Time to Go Upstream

A woman, walking along a riverbank, suddenly sees a person flailing his arms and hears him pleading for help as he bobs in the water while being pushed downstream. The woman on the bank dives into the water, swims to the person and rescues him by pulling him ashore. When the woman turns toward the river, once again she hears someone screaming for help. Then another. And another. One after the other, the woman pulls victims from the river.

Exhausted, and pulling yet another victim to shore, she notices another woman walking by. “Help me!” she pleads. “All these people are drowning and I have to do something to save them. More people are falling in and need help. Look!” she says, pointing to the river where more victims are in the water and needing help.

Immediately, the second woman starts to run upstream along the bank.

“Where are you going?” she screams at the woman. “I need help now!”

“I am helping right now,” says the second woman. “I’m going upstream to find out how they’re falling into the river and to prevent that!”

 

*****

 

Please consider being a part of this important evening –

“Food Is the First Medicine”

A Town Hall Meeting for

People of Faith,

Responding to Hunger

in Africa & in St. Louis

 

Hosta: Epiphany UCC & 1^st Congregational UCC, St Louis

 

Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 7-9 p.m.

at 1^st Cong UCC – 6501 Wydown Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63105

 

Speakers:

Glenn Koenen, Executive Director, Circle of Concern

Gedlu Metaferia, Executive Director,

     African Mutual Aid Association of Missouri

Clint McCann, Professor -Biblical Interpretation, Eden

     Representing Bread for the World

 

Responses from Elected Officials:

John W. Scates, Community Liaison, Sen. Roy Blunt

Mattie Moore, Deputy Regional Dir, Sen. Claire McCaskill

Congressman Todd Akin (Awaiting Confirmation)

Office of Congressman Russ Carnahan (Confirmed)

Congressman William L. Clay Jr. (Awaiting Confirmation)

 

On Site Childcare Available (call 314-772-0263 to register)

No Cost; Food Collection for Joint  Neighborhood Ministry

For More Information: 314-775-8940

*****

As you know, we are inviting PUCCers to set a goal of donating $11 for East Africa Famine Relief and 11 non-perishable food items for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.  We will receive your gifts on Sunday or … please feel free to drop off your financial and food gifts at church anytime [checks payable to Parkway UCC with Mission:1 in the memo line]. The food can go into the sanctuary on the chancel steps with the other items that are already there.  You can give your $ to Mona in the office or slip it under the door to her office.  If you are donating food items elsewhere, please let us know so we may add that toward our goal of 1,111 non-perishables.

 

Thank you!

 

Blessings!

Kevin

Day 3 of 11 — Mission:1… to feed the hungry and confront food related injustices

 

Please read and pray through this scripture passage.  It is at the core of our efforts to reach out and love those in need.

Matthew 25:31-45

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. ³⁴Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’⁴⁰And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ ⁴¹Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴²for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’⁴⁵Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’                                                                                         31

We have had a few questions about the mechanics of Mission:1

 

As you know, we are inviting PUCCers to set a goal of donating $11 for East Africa Famine Relief and 11 non-perishable food items for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.  We will receive your gifts on Sunday or … please feel free to drop off your financial and food gifts at church anytime. The food can go into the sanctuary on the chancel steps with the other items that are already there.  You can give your $ to Mona in the office or slip it under the door to her office.  If you are donating food items elsewhere, please let us know so we may add that toward our goal of 1,111 non-perishables.

 

Thank you!

 

Blessings!

 

Peace, Kevin

Day 2 of 11 — Mission:1…to feed the hungry and confront food related injustices

 

Just like we all do, I was sitting in the congregation as a Mission Moment was being shared. She was the coordinator of a local food pantry and had a challenge for us. First, though, she kind of tricked us. She asked how many of us reached into the back of our cabinets and pantries the day before or the morning of the monthly Give-A-Meal Sunday. She asked how many of us pulled out the soups we knew had a strange aftertaste…. or the obscure food that wasn’t needed for the recipe after all…or the can that had been dented when we dropped it as we unloaded the trunk. A number of people raised their hands.

She went on to ask us how we might feel if we were struggling to make ends meet, trying to keep our children healthy and were at a food pantry for the first time. She encouraged us to think about what it might feel like to see there on the shelf a soup that we knew did not taste good, a battered can of beets and a food we did not recognize and would not know how to use.

It was an epiphany for me. Of course…I should only donate food items that are healthy and tasty… foods that people would want to take off the shelf and bring home to their families… foods that are good by themselves and foods that would blend with others to become something delicious and nutritious.

One of our ‘chefs’ from VBS last summer encouraged our children in this direction as well. She suggested we bring canned goods from these four areas:

fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins. She also reminded us that it is generous and sweet to add a bonus item as well (ie. muffin mix, pie crust, yogurt covered raisins).

 

As you know, we are inviting PUCCers to set a goal of donating $11 for East Africa Famine Relief and 11 non-perishable food items for local food pantries during these first 11 days in November.

 

Thank you for joining us in these efforts.

 

Blessings

Peace,

Kevin
For more about healthy options when donating to a food pantry, please visit

http://www.livestrong.com/article/230279-canned-food-pantry-list/