MEALS WITH MEANING

Meals with Meaning provides a profound means of grace in Addie’s and my life since “switching my altar from the sanctuary to the East Patio,” as I like to say!

Serving 50 guests a day with canned foods, hygiene items, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or “mocha coffee” (the specialty of the house!), sandwiches, desserts, condiments, and breads has become the high point of our week.

We have a blast on Tuesdays, our day to serve, and enjoy the camaraderie with other volunteers who end our daily prayer with a shout, “Go, Team Tuesday!”

Lately, we have renewed a tradition begun by Pat Meech years ago, before she and Kevin moved to Iowa, that of knitting ear warmers and hats for our guests distributed during the cold streaks we seem to experience more frequently these days. It is so utterly heartwarming to see the expressions of appreciation on the faces of the recipients who are so grateful for a little something to warm them up, along with the hot coffee, soup, and occasional scarves people thoughtfully donate.

It’s little wonder we miss Tuesdays for the months we are up north in the summertime. There’s not a Tuesday I don’t think of the team and see the faces of those we’ve come to love, and in whom we see an experience of “the Divine Exchange,” or, as Gena often prays as we begin our shift: “May we see Jesus in them, as they see Jesus in us!”

What an incredibly holy experience this outreach ministry has come to mean to us, making a difference: meals with MEANING indeed!

With deep gratitude,

Addie & Fr. Craig+