Meals on Wheels, Temple Emanuel, Social Justice Networking, and Doing All the Good We Can

     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.

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.