“ I tell you this: whenever you saw a brother or sister hungry or cold, whatever you did to the least of these, so you did to me.” Matthew 25:40 (The Voice)
Back in 2012, I was attending Garden Grove UMC as was Pastor Ginny Wheeler. On a fun filled day where I was wedding dress shopping with one of my future daughter-in-laws, Pastor Ginny gave me a call and asked me if I would meet with a man who wanted to begin a homeless lunch program with the area churches. I really wasn’t looking to do something like this; I was in wedding mode but yes, I agreed to meet with Larry.
Larry had a kind soul, he was doing the mission work of delivering Meals on Wheels to those who needed a meal brought to them. It was during his deliveries that he came to realize that there were many homeless people in the parks in Garden Grove who needed food, and he wanted to do something to change that. So Larry met with all the area churches wanting to get a couple or group of people who would take one Friday a month to make and hand out sack lunches to the homeless.
Larry showed me the ropes on my first time out to do this. We began by going under a freeway overpass and calling to those who had tucked themselves away at the very top. I will admit it was an uncomfortable feeling, not something I had ever done before or anything I would recommend on your own, but the people already knew Larry and they trusted him. They came down from on high and we gave them simple lunches that also had a pair of tube socks inside. The genuine graciousness and gratitude was emotionally overwhelming. We continued to make the rounds to behind store buildings and many parks.
I never went alone. There were always one or two others with me, and we had many life experiences along the way. We got to know them and they knew and trusted us, at least momentarily. One time we met a man who had once been in the NFL and now homeless, One time a lady, who was a regular, had had her shoes stolen and was very upset. She was about my size, so I gave her my sneakers. she was shocked and overwhelmed someone would do that for her and began to cry. I was taken back and humbled by her reaction, and I simply finished our route barefoot. There were turf wars and some crazy situations that we encountered, and a lot of people who had simply lost their way. But for two years my group never missed our Friday.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be doing anything like that, but sometimes God calls us in a way that stretches us beyond our way of thinking, beyond what we see as our limited ability. The moment I asked God to show me, to stretch me, to use me, I found God continually braking the box of security that I would like to comfortably stay in. What I did was a moment in time and was not something everyone is call to do in that way. The outreach ministries that Community UMC offers, the Food Pantry, the Shower Ministry and all the others, are a beautiful testament to what Jesus calls us to do, “If you love me…feed my lambs.”
Loving God, new every morning is your love, and all day long you are working for good in the world. Stir up in us desire to serve you in small and genuine ways, to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, and to devote each day to sharing your love. In the name of Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessings,
Brenda