Beans, Rice and Blessing

After I retired on April 1, 2011, I was privileged to be invited to serve at the Church of St. Michael and All Angels in Anniston, Alabama during Holy Week and Easter of this year as well as a few weeks prior to Holy Week and a week during July of 2011.  I met some really wonderful people who love their Lord and had a passion for ministry and mission to the people of their city and their neighborhood.  St. Michael’s is located in a “Blue Collar” neighborhood which has been greatly affected by the economic recession of 2007 and 2008, the affects of which continue to trouble our nation to this day.  Unemployment in Alabama is still over nine percent.  Construction work, which employed a significant number of men in our state, is down and many families are reduced to one or even no income.

During my time at St. Michael’s, I was invited by many people (especially Pam Roberts, Harvey Roberts and Bette White) to participate in a ministry they were calling their “Beans & Rice Ministry.”  Pam and Harvey learned of this ministry from Trinity Episcopal Church in Clanton, Alabama, where this small church had been making a difference in their community for several years.  Finally, eight months after my first invitation, I was able to participate in this “bridge” ministry (as Harvey calls it) which St. Michael’s began during this time of economic crisis in our nation and our world in September 2010 in response to the command of Jesus Christ to feed the hungry.  Harvey refers to this as a bridge ministry because it bridges the gap between the time people run out of money for food and the time they receive their next check, whether pay check or disability or social security or some other source.

This past Saturday I left my warm bed at 4:45 a.m. to brew and ingest enough coffee for the two hour trip to Anniston.  I arrived at St. Michael’s just a few minutes before 8:00 a.m. in order to participate in the hour and a half or two hours of bagging and boxing of the food in preparation for distribution to those who would come to the church between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon to receive it.  As Harvey and Pam got us started, I had a real sense of “organized (sort of) chaos.”  Everyone appeared to know what their jobs were and what needed to be done in order to be ready to serve their “guests” by 10:00 a.m.  There were over thirty volunteers there, bagging rice, bagging beans, putting cans of vegetables and sacks of flour into bags, preparing bags of fruit, baking potatoes, and sweet potatoes; and, at this special time of year, Christmas candy and ornaments were also available to be given as a special treat for children and adults alike.

A little before 9:00 a.m., all of the volunteers held hands forming a circle around the food, and prayed that God would bless the gifts, as well as those who gave and those who would receive the gifts.  By 9:30 we were ready for the crowds.  We took a deep breath and prepared ourselves for the giving of the food to those who came looking for a blessing, both spiritual and physical, in the name of Jesus.  Two-thirds of the recipients were from the neighborhood in which the church is located.  Others came from all over the community. 

The doors were opened at 10:00 a.m. and within the first thirty minutes, 145 people, representing as many families, came through the Parish Hall and received food that will help them make it through the end of the month.  Between 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon, another 73 people showed up bringing the total families served to 218. 

As stated earlier, St. Michael’s began this feeding, caring ministry in September of 2010, knowing that there were many people in the neighborhood and the larger Anniston area who had been and continued to be affected by the economic downturn in our country and in the world.  The idea for this ministry was introduced by Harvey and Pam Roberts, who very soon were joined by over thirty members of St. Michael’s who gather once a month to put together the donations of food and the food purchased by the donations of money in hopes that the church can make a difference in the lives of people in their local community.   The parishioners at St. Michael’s have taken seriously Jesus’ command to feed the hungry among us, knowing that if they “have done it unto the least of these, my brothers and sisters, they have done it unto Jesus.” 

In addition to the people who volunteer their time to this life changing ministry, many among them as well as others make donations of food items and/or cash contributions in order to help purchase additional food.  As a “visitor,” to St. Michael’s, I feel that I have been honored and blessed to be a part of this ministry and to see the giving hearts and spirits of these wonderful people who give selflessly of their time, talents, and money to make a difference in the lives of the people they serve.  I am humbled by the invitation I received to participate in this ministry and even more humbled by the realization that the people who received the gifts that were offered in the name of Jesus, also gave a blessing to us as well.  I cannot put into words all the flood of emotions that I felt as I worked side by side with people serving God and their neighbors.  I can, however, say that it brought new meaning to a song that I learned in Sunday school so many years ago:  “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” 

So, thank you Pam, Harvey, Bette, and all my new friends at St. Michael’s for inviting me to participate in this wonderful ministry.  When I see God’s people living Jesus’ great commission, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself”, then I know that we, as people of God, will make it through this difficult time in our world’s history, restoring peace and justice to our world and sharing God’s blessing with one another, today, tomorrow and forever.

Blessings and Peace,

Ben Alford