The meal is ready and the whole group of twenty or so gathers in a circle for a prayer. The doors are opened and immediately people file in. Some take their seats; some go straight for the coffee; others head for a table covered with cups of Kool Aid. An efficient assembly line fills the plates and puts them on trays. The Scouts queue up to take the trays and deliver the banquet to the waiting guests. People are talking and laughing and generally having a good time. On this evening, about 180 are served. An hour and a half later, the guests have left, the tables have been cleared, the kitchen is wiped down, the floor is swept, and the trash is in the dumpster. Everything is set to be repeated tomorrow evening.
This single night at our Meals Program is a wonderful example of the kind of cooperation it takes to house our neighbors who are homeless, feed our guests who are hungry, and care for those who are sick, whether mentally or physically. It is simply awe-inspiring to reflect on all of the positive energy that comes together every single day to meet the needs of the people who come to us.
In this newsletter you’ll find articles about Lee and Ed and Peter. As you read their stories, try to picture all the people who have come together to help them…the social workers, nurses, and counselors on staff here…the volunteers who give their time and energy to serve others…the donors who upport this work financially…and the many other agencies that team up to provide a safety net for people who are in need. None of us can address the troubles of our city alone. It takes the entire community, all of us.
Someone who knows Latin better than I once told me that the word “community” comes from two roots, com- which means “together,” and munis, which has to do with “serving.” A community is a group that comes together to serve. In my faith tradition, the sacrament of Eucharist is nown more commonly as “Communion,” which seems to come from the same root words, and can also be traced to a word that means, “a sharing.”
There is more than a linguistic connection between the sharing that happens as we gather around the altar for communion, and the sharing that happens as we join as a community to serve others.
Receiving communion leads us to grasp the connection between ourselves and every other person…no exceptions. We are all pieces of the same puzzle.
