Dear Five O' Clock Friends,
Perhaps you have heard that old saw "Necessity is the mother of invention." Maybe you know the composition of the Chinese character for crisis-danger and opportunity. Last Sunday morning the Congregation of St. Martin's lived out those sayings. The folks we had counted on to provide breakfast did not put the date on their calendar. When I walked into the shelter last Sunday morning, the kitchen was empty. There was no food and there was no one there to cook, serve and clean-up afterwards. And yet there were over 300 people hungry for the first meal of their day. We really couldn't cancel breakfast.
Perhaps you have heard that old saw "Necessity is the mother of invention." Maybe you know the composition of the Chinese character for crisis-danger and opportunity. Last Sunday morning the Congregation of St. Martin's lived out those sayings. The folks we had counted on to provide breakfast did not put the date on their calendar. When I walked into the shelter last Sunday morning, the kitchen was empty. There was no food and there was no one there to cook, serve and clean-up afterwards. And yet there were over 300 people hungry for the first meal of their day. We really couldn't cancel breakfast.
The heroes of the day were the folks at Garcia's(the restaurant across the street from St. Martin's), the people from the Congregation of St. Martin's, and the folks who gather outside the shelter every Sunday. When asked if they could whip up breakfast for 300 people in less than an hour, Carmen, who works the front at Garcia's said, "Just let me check with the kitchen." In a few minutes, she returned and said, "Sure. We can do it." Scrambled eggs, beans, potatoes, and tortillas for 300 people. In less than an hour. "How much will this cost the Mission to the Homeless?" I wondered to myself. Carmen slipped me the bill--$320. That's it. Breakfast for 300 for a little over three hundred dollars. Garcia's stepping up to the plate.
While I was negotiating with Garcia's, the Congregation of St. Martin's wasdoing the work of the people-carrying on with the liturgy. By the time I walked through the back door, they had sung the opening song, said the opening prayers, and were reading the scripture of the day. At announcement time, some people volunteered to serve the food while others volunteered to carry food from Garcia's to St. Martin's. While we were worshipping, the folks out front were taking up a collection to pay for drinks for 300. They took their six dollars to Lowe's on Lomas where they bought enough kool aid and sugar to make drinks for all. When the doors closed at 10:00, the cooks at Garcia's and the team from St. Martin's had fed over 300 people. More important-the people at St. Martin's-folks other people often overlook or dismiss-had stepped up to the plate.
There was another way the people of St. Martin's stepped up to the plate last Sunday. When they heard about the broken stained glass windows at First United Methodist Church, a church that serves lunch to the homeless one day a week, they voted to donate Sunday's offering to First Methodist to help pay to fix those broken windows-sixteen dollars in quarters, pennies, nickels and dimes and few crumpled bills handed over to a fellow congregation.
From time to time, we are all asked to step up to the plate. From time to time, we are all offered the opportunity to work with others to fill a need.
When folks come together as the Congregation of St. Martin's did last Sunday, you can see the Spirit of God at work through the people of God. "Wow." "Thanks." That's all that need be said.
As St. Michael's fall pledge drive draws to a close, it is my hope and prayer that we at Live at Five will step up to the plate just as the people of St. Martin's did last Sunday. Wouldn't it be great if we had a 100% pledge rate?
That's not so hard to achieve. It takes each of us making a commitment to give a portion of our earnings to our church. The only pledge that is too small is the pledge that doesn't come in at all. Let's make a commitment to be a 100% community-a community in which we all take a share in supporting the whole.
From time to time, we are all asked to step up to the plate. From time to time, we are all offered the opportunity to work with others to fill a need.
When folks come together as the Congregation of St. Martin's did last Sunday, you can see the Spirit of God at work through the people of God. "Wow." "Thanks." That's all that need be said.
As St. Michael's fall pledge drive draws to a close, it is my hope and prayer that we at Live at Five will step up to the plate just as the people of St. Martin's did last Sunday. Wouldn't it be great if we had a 100% pledge rate?
That's not so hard to achieve. It takes each of us making a commitment to give a portion of our earnings to our church. The only pledge that is too small is the pledge that doesn't come in at all. Let's make a commitment to be a 100% community-a community in which we all take a share in supporting the whole.
LET'S STEP UP TO THE PLATE!
In gratitude for all you do and all you give,
Susan+
In gratitude for all you do and all you give,
Susan+
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