Since 2006,
Temple Emanuel has hosted
Meals on Wheels of Wheaton, providing the Temple kitchen facilities for the preparation of meals
every weekday morning. Yesterday, representing the Temple Board of Trustees, I had the privilege of providing the welcoming remarks for the Meals on Wheels-Wheaton Annual Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at the Temple. MOW-Wheaton, day-in and day-out, performs mitzvot -- good deeds. For the elderly who are unable to get around and who sometimes may be mostly alone in the world, MOW provides a human and caring connection in a world that is sometimes harsh. This is why Temple Emanuel is so pleased to be able to volunteer its kitchen facilities to MOW. (We have planted an organic vegetable garden on our property, and will be donating the food that is grown to MOW-Wheaton.)
Except for a paid cook, this chapter of MOW is staffed entirely by its approximately 80 volunteers. They currently serve more than 60 clients in the Wheaton/Leisure World area of Montgomery County. The clients pay a relatively small amount, which does not cover the full cost of the meals; the rest of the expenses are covered by donations. Unlike other MOW groups, MOW-Wheaton does not rely on government funding. Donations may be made
here.
I had a lovely conversation of MOW-Wheaton President Mary O'Brien and her husband Mike.
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| Mary and Mike O'Brien |
They have been volunteers with MOW-Wheaton for more than a decade and a half, since Mike retired from the Foreign Service. The O'Briens demonstrate what a vibrant retirement can be. Mary is stepping down as president this year, and is being succeeded by Kathy Serabian, a native Washingtonian who has most recently served as MOW-Wheaton's volunteer chair.
At the close of the business portion of the annual meeting, Reverend Claire Matheny, Associate Pastor of
St. Paul's United Methodist Church of Kensington (which is just a few blocks away from the Temple), gave the blessing and closing remarks. I had a very nice conversation with her later, discussing the ways that our faith communities help bring goodness to the world. It gave me the opportunity to tell her about
Comfort Cases, which began at
Fairhaven United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg, and for which many Temple Emanuel members have been volunteering. Social justice networking! As John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, famously taught,
"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." Fits right in with the Reform Movement's upcoming
Consultation on Conscience.
Rev. Matheny's closing remarks were, well, remarkable. With her permission, I paste them below.
“More Room”
Meals on Wheels of Wheaton Volunteer
Luncheon
April 19, 2017
I am Rev. Claire Matheny and I serve just a few blocks away
as the Associate Pastor of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church here in
Kensington. I am thankful for the reputation we have gained in our efforts to
feed people in the 20895 zip code in particular. We have a heart for meeting
issues of hunger in our community. I'm here, because you do, too.
I want to begin with a folk story:
One
day a hungry beggar went to the house of a rich man. He asked for something to
eat. The rich man invited the beggar in and gave him some soup. The beggar
drank the soup very quickly. When he finished the rich man asked, “Do you
want more to eat?”
“No,
thanks,” the beggar answered. “That was enough. I’m full.” But the rich man
gave the beggar a large plate of meat.
The beggar finished that very quickly also.
“Do
you want more to eat?” the rich man asked again.
“No,
thanks,” the beggar answered. “That was enough. I’m full.”
But
the rich man didn’t stop. He gave the beggar some delicious chocolate cake. The
beggar quickly finished the food again. “Why do you lie to me?” the rich man
asked. “Every time I ask you if you want more to eat, you say no; but every
time I give you more, you eat it quickly.”
The
beggar looked around. Outside the kitchen there was a box. He filled the box
with stones and asked the rich man, “Is this box full?”
“Of
course it’s full, the rich man answered.
Then
the beggar put some sand in the box that was full of stones. “Is this box
full?” he asked again.
“Of
course it’s full,” the rich man answered.
Then
the beggar got a pail of water. He poured the water into the box that was full
of stones and sand. “You see,” he said to the rich man. “Every time I ask you
if the box is full, you say yes; but every time you say yes, I fill the box
again. It’s the same thing with the food you gave me. There’s always room for
more.”
Certainly
with today’s generous meal, I am sure that we will find we can make room for
the next tasty bite in front of us.
But,
I think that this story strikes on something I have found around the concept of
pride. I find that most people, members of the Greatest Generation
definitely included, have difficulty taking something from someone, and of
accepting a gift. In this story, the beggar gladly takes the food that is put
in front of him, but does not ask for more, preferring instead to let the rich
man know that what he has been offered has filled him. He of course, by filling
the box shows we seem to make room for that which is given, especially if we’ve
gone without for a long time.
The
recipients of Wheaton Meals on Wheels pay a modest sum for their week of meals,
a minor miracle if you ask me. But the truth is such a figure is possible
because you do not require compensation. Otherwise, in addition to the
donations, there is not a way to meet this need at such an affordable price
point.
But
there is so much more: You come one day and fill the need. Then another
volunteer is there to come the next…and the next day still the need is met. The
box continues to have room, the belly has begun to rumble again (sometimes for
the only meal someone will enjoy). What you offer is not only health food that
people can afford on fixed incomes, but you bring it with yourselves. The
way in which you extend the gift is such that people can accept with dignity.
You can show up each time with the meal and they can take it because you have
offered yourself. You have dedicated your time, given it up freely, and in so
doing, have also fed emotionally, and I would venture to say spiritually, those
who receive. But like the water and sand that fill the box, you also stay to
connect about the weather, or to look at treasured family photos of those who
aren't able to visit often.
Thank
you for engaging in work that communicates that there is “always room for
more"--always room for more respect and care in a world where
folks—especially those who feel shut at home or unable to grocery shop or pay
for fresh produce, or really make meals anymore, potentially could feel shame,
humiliation, or fear. As you have given each meal, there is the anticipation
that the recipient will be hungry yet again, and when you come again to
the doorstep you meet the need of the moment, and you do it again and again.
There is no waiting for someone to say they are hungry, the meal is just there
to fill someone up.
I
recently had the opportunity to sit down with Director Larry White from
Mid-County United Ministries in Wheaton. We talked about the ongoing need he
sees with drop-in clients. He talked about some of the drop-off he has seen in
people accessing services given issues with immigration. It is hard to think
that there may be people out there hungry because they are too afraid to be
seen and to ask for what is needed for themselves and for their families.
Particularly, I shrink at the thought of children, Seniors, and chronically ill
or differently abled persons not getting proper nutrition.
It wasn’t
until recently that I heard the word: “lunch shaming” for the first time.
It’s used in school settings where children have outstanding food debt. In some
places, hot lunches are taken away from children and put in the trash,
replacing the meal with a cold sandwich, in some cases a piece of cheese on
bread. It’s been proven that if kids don’t get the calories they need
throughout the day, that they cannot pay attention in class.
In
a news story, I learned of a woman, Ashley C. Ford, who had been reading
criticisms of free and reduced cost meals. She
tweeted
encouraging folks to find out which nearby schools had lunch debt and to pay
off some of that debt. Now, two to three months later, people have given
hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay off the meal debts of school
children…no doubt enabling them to approach the lunch line with less anxiety,
and to have their trays filled.
It
starts early, the concept that if you can’t get yourself fed that
you should feel embarrassed about it. But with young children in
particular, the box, the stomach is always going to be in need of more. I am
grateful for those who reached out anonymously to pay the lunch debts of
children so that they would not be denied hearty meals. To reduce the weight
that parents must feel when they can’t fully provide for their families.
I
am similarly grateful to each of you and the part that you play in reducing
whatever stigma that could come when someone has to ask for help and seek
assistance. Through your hard work as well as the donations that you and the
network of donors provides, people are able to remain in their homes, and
welcome hot and wholesome food to their doorsteps throughout the week. This is
done without a whole lot of trumpeting. A car pulling up to a house, perhaps
some smiling moments of conversation, and an exchange of food.
A
couple of years back, the same year I last spoke with you for this event, I did
have the opportunity to go out one day on one of your routes that touched
Silver Spring and Wheaton. One of your experienced drivers steered, while I was
ready to navigate major roads and surprising cul-de-sacs and then pop
out and hand the meals to participants. Even now, when through my every
day driving, I find myself at the borders of that area, I wonder about those
persons that I spent a flash of a moment meeting. Those who paused long enough
for doors to crack open, enough for me to see just a little glimpse
of their worlds, some times rather vibrant homes with voices bouncing back
and forth, and little eager pets. Other houses felt incredibly lonely. We never
know the full need, and complexity of story waiting on the other side.
And
so, I will gladly accept from you today, your celebration meal and the
fellowship that blessedly comes along with it. Today I am the recipient.
And let us acknowledge that although you all are the givers in this volunteer
equation, that it is often you who are receiving. Your boxes keep filling with
the kind of satisfaction and soul enhancement that comes when we meet
others with respect and find that there “is always room for more.” And who
knows, I understand that sometimes volunteers in this great organization become
its clients.
Creator
God,
We
often struggle with whether we are good enough,
whether
our efforts make a difference or impact,
and
whether we are living into our life's purpose.
But
when we look around a room such as this,
we
marvel that 33,000 meals were delivered in the last year.
We
can't help but be filled with a hope that transcends our fears.
We
can't help but welcome a lunch together that celebrates community connections
today.
Bless
this food, we pray. Bless the hands that have prepared it,
and
those that prepare the meals each week.
May
we continue the good work of the Meals on Wheels of Wheaton,
that
there would be more than enough
care,
respect, and food to go around. Amen.
