It all started with a book. A good friend, from EfM, had been telling me for months, “you’ve got to read Take This Bread, by Sara Miles, you’ll love it!” I bought it. It sat on my desk for months. One day in early summer he asked if I’d read it yet. No but, I have it! Later in the summer I looked at it on my desk, staring back at me reproachfully. I picked it up, opened it and began to read. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down! This is the story of Sara’s spiritual journey from growing up in an atheist household to covering revolutions around the world as a freelance journalist to early one morning stepping into St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, taking communion for the very first time and finding herself transformed.
She had witnessed crushing poverty in war-torn places around the world, remembered the poorest of the poor sharing their bread with her. At St. Gregory’s she found God feeding his people with spiritual food and made a connection. She, with the support of the members of St. Gregory’s, began a free food pantry with food piled on and around the altar to feed the hungry in their San Francisco neighborhood. Eventually that first food pantry gave rise to almost a dozen food pantries in the poorest areas of the city.
I was fired up! We, at Nativity, need to start a free food pantry! Wait, how does that happen during a pandemic? I tucked the idea away.
While scrolling through Facebook one day my eye was caught by a post for an Advent project, a reverse Advent Calendar. Instead of buying an Advent calendar, opening a little door each day, and taking out a chocolate or other small treat you would be creating something to be given away. This caught my attention.
Starting with an empty box, each day of Advent a non-perishable food item, such as a box of cereal, can of soup, can of vegetables, etc. would be put into it. Then on Christmas Eve it would be delivered to a food pantry. This is a project we can do, even during a pandemic! I had some ideas about how I might adapt the project to make it more personal. Time to call Stephanie!
Are you curious? Come back next week for the rest of the story.
Cheryl Waechter