On Wednesday, clergy staff on the Wellshire Church went on a field trip. We were joined by Holly Inglis, our very fine educator, Chuck Sparks, our crack church administrator, and Ray Johnson, a very dedicated elder at the church.
We left the church at sharply at 10:00 a.m. and went to Food Bank of the Rockies, which was a very impressive, large-scale operation. We had a complete tour from an employee, but Wellshire member Bob Britt, who was volunteering that day, made it personal for us by showing us where and how our church donations are processed and used.
We then went to Metro-CareRing, which is a food panty that offers other forms of assistance when practical. There we met with the executive director and manager, had lunch and stocked shelves for a couple of hours. Of interest, Wellshire had just donated 2,600 lbs. of food. We were initially proud of the size of this contribution, but rapidly humbled to learn that they would give out that much food in one day.
We then jetted off to The Gathering Place, which is a women’s day shelter. I had worked with day shelters before. In fact, my church in Tennessee had one, but I had no idea of the size and scope of The Gathering Place! I was completely impressed with every facet of their ministry. Our team prepared the early evening, served it and cleaned up after ourselves and the guests. It was sad knowing that – not long after we slipped out the door, they too would be forced to leave the day shelter to find some place to endure the night.
We had an hour before our next assignment, so we popped into a local watering hole for margaritas and loaded nachos. The fatigue was starting to appear and yet joy was present, as we had a very serious discussion about what we had seen and heard.
Finally, we scooted down to Central Presbyterian Church and served homeless men their evening meal at the New Genesis Shelter before going home about 7:30 p.m., leaping, singing, dancing and praising God!
I cannot speak for all on our little field trip, but deeply embedded in my understanding of the Christian faith and life is the notion that we are to look for the face of Jesus in those who are lost and suffering (Matthew 25). I saw him in the wrinkled faces of the men and the women who asked me for bread. Sometimes, if we look closely enough, we might even see our own face in the tired and weary faces of those whose lives have been shattered and who beg for food. As one of our tribe noted, it is clear that the face of poverty in American has changed in this recession, for many that we served looked as if they could have been our sons and our daughters – or even our parents.
As most of you know, I have been intimately involved with Habitat for Humanity for nearly 25 years, but, as a pastor of a church, it is a true thrill to see what other members of my congregation are doing for others in the name of Jesus Christ! Every where we went on Wednesday, Wellshire volunteers were present and working hard, and each of the volunteer coordinators at each mission sang the same song, “I don’t know what we would do without Wellshire.” It was a great joy to get outside of the walls of Wellshire for a day and see what Wellshire members are doing outside of our walls. I am proud of the church that I am blessed to serve! Let us run and not be weary.
