After a seed idea was planted, the idea of offering a community meal was explored, prayed upon and born! In today’s world we are very aware of food insecurity and hunger, but there is also great ‘soul’ hunger - the need for soul nourishment that is increasingly caused by an overwhelming and disconnected world. We see people who feel stress, isolated, lonely, discouraged, hopeless, grieving, they don’t belong, disenfranchised, those experiencing mental health issues.
There is a church that after communion the people are asked “Have all been fed?”, they answer “Not Yet!” This “Not Yet!” signifies the ongoing mission of the church to serve, to show God’s love by being the hands and feet of Jesus, to follow Jesus’ commandment to love thy neighbor as thyself. This "Not Yet!” is a call for us to live into our BUMC core values.
A community meal is simply an occasion for gathering together with a group of people to share food and time together. But when we think of Jesus eating with all kinds of people, in all kind of situations (in homes, crowds, with his friends & strangers), the meal acts as a Christian biblical spiritual practice. Jesus shared the good news of the gospel, LOVE, by being present with people, sharing time with them and sharing a most basic and essential life activity. The vision of the free community monthly meal is a call to action to act boldly and joyfully by opening our doors and hearts to better serve those in need in our community. The prayer is that God will use BUMC as disciples to extend the invitation, Come, Be Fed, to all who are ‘hungry’ for whatever reason and in the gathering around a table God’s love will be felt. Food ministry is as wonderful a way to share the gospel and build community today as ever.
After receiving support from the BUMC leadership team, a planning team has been working on initiating this ministry. Our annual Mexican Fiesta Meal on Thurs., July 16 during Byron Good Neighbor Days will be the first Free Community Meal to those who dine in, and will be used as a way to introduce and communicate the ministry. Monthly meals will start in Sept. and be ongoing from then on. Sign up sheets for workers/needs for the Mexican Meal will be up in the dining room mid-June. We hope to have great response for workers for this lively community meal! And please consider how you can support the ongoing meals as we start this church mission in Sept. The present planning team is team lead Chris Miller, Marlene Abel, Terry Egbers, Cathy Huntoon & Pastor Andy. We’d welcome any interested to the planning team!
In Christ, Chris Miller