If you'd like to know what it's like at our church...
Yesterday The Transition Closet hosted a relaxing potluck and talent show that offered safe supportive space for the trans community. While that was taking place a big Marshallese first birthday party was setting up in the Fellowship Hall.
This meant some of us got to church a little earlier this morning to make sure all the festivities had been cleaned up because it was the morning to prepare Sunday suppers, a meal our congregation serves monthly in mid-Fayetteville.
Only... Food Not Bombs was already cooking in the space, having moved their weekly meal one week due to scheduling conflicts. So we quickly navigated the dilemma of having not one but TWO groups preparing free meals for the community. Good thing we have four ovens and two kitchens (though, side note, it's about time to replace most of those ovens).
This meant by the time church started the whole building smelt like TWO meals being prepared.
After church we had our first new members lunch for the season of Lent. The Fellowship Hall was packed. We'd asked everyone to bring sandwich fixings for our meal, and there was a LOT of bread. Since we also collect about fourteen gallons of milk each week to supply 7 Hills Homeless Day Center Monday mornings for their daily breakfasts, I joked we were totally ready for a snow storm. No shortage of bread and milk.
After the meal, all the kids and I quick took the extra bread and cheese and meat and other items to the Friendly Fridge out back and the Little Free Pantry on the church driveway. All of which is to say, although I truly wish we simply addressed food insecurity in America by providing Universal Basic Income and other social nets, in the meantime we did a pretty good job today of feeding a LOT of people.
In the meantime Trans Equality Network was hosting their weekly crochet group in the game room, and a member was busy assembling one more Ikea-level-complexity kids table for the narthex.
Operating this way as a church is very messy. It's literally messy, with lots of clean-up, and relationally messy because we sometimes bump into each other using the same spaces, or in the case of kids helping fill the Friendly Fridge, I almost mowed down a Sunday supper leader racing the four year old back to the new member class to get more bread... (which if you ever come to our worship services is the energy in church these days since communion is mostly served by the kids)
But... I don't think you can get that many people together in one place and feed each other without a mess.
Just one story to file in the "I don't always know what we do as a church but whatever it is I like it" department.
Part of it is the culture. Sometimes we're just very direct and repetitive in asking people to help.
It’s so inspiring to see a busy church with so much going on and so many children participating. I felt bad leaving yesterday and not helping clean up, so next week I’ll see where I can help with set up or cleanup. Glad to know the food left over was saved for those who would benefit from it. GSLC is definitely doing the work Christians are meant to do for those less fortunate, thanks to the leadership.