I started working at a food pantry at the start of January
to fulfill the requirements of my supervised ministry class. I was unsure of it
as this is something I have never ever considered as a site for ministry, for
me. But I love it already. I do intake interviews, shop with clients as we are
a client choice pantry(items are out on shelves and clients get to chose the
variety of the item. I.e. tomato soup not clam chowder), and find and refer
resources to clients. Today I finished the first incarnation of the big bad
book of referrals and resources. Its about 2 inches thick of paper, I also got
to give my first referrals from it! I would post a picture but I forgot to take
one today!
As someone
who often looks to the very ordinary as evidence of the Divine, I was reminded
of this again. I had a very holy moment with a client today as we both shared a
lot in common, I was able to use my knowable to help steer her to some resources.
Then we went shopping; I encouraged her to keep up with her hard work and acknowledged
her strength in asking for help. We talked about what could be done with the
food items, like beans and rice, blueberry cobbler and so on. As we where checking
out she asked how long I had been there and I told her three weeks, She was
amazed and asked me what bought me to the pantry. I told her it was my
internship for my M.Div and then we had a conversation about faith. I had
already felt a kinship with her the moment she walked into the office for the interview
but then she affirmed she felt it too.
It
was a warm reminder of just how holy the work I’m doing is. I was struggling a
bit to see the connection between food pantry and ministry other then ‘they are
hungry feed them, Jesus told us to’. But it is more then that it is the
conversations, the affirmation of a persons strengths, the reaffirm that they
are the beloved of Gods. Yes that is the ministry of the pantry
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