Yesterday I served a meal for the disadvantaged at The Church of Christ in Trenton. It was completely different than the soup kitchen in Atlantic City where I have served for many years while living in Avalon. There it was primarily homeless people many of whom were people with addictions. But in Trenton it was different. there were only a few obvious homeless people and it appeared that most had homes, but were deeply impoverished and of course there were more than a few addicted people of the 200 or so that we served. You have to wonder what were the stories behind these people that led them to be so desperate that led them to stand in line for a free meal on a Saturday at noon. For example there was an attractive 29 year old girl with a hospital wrist band still on her wrest who asked for a fourth glass of juice. What was her story? What is her hope? There were many who took rolls and butter packets and sugar packets and stuffed them into there pockets. How desperate must you be to do this. What are their stories. And then there were the servers. Amazingly one of the men who was serving had himself been out of work for three and half years who had just recently found a job, but felt the need to serve. There was the pleasant thirty something girl from the neighborhood and a member of the church who has been serving since she was a teenager and has been giving up every other Saturday to do. Then of course were the people from our church who spent a beautiful Saturday to serve in the ugly poverty of downtown Trenton. If you have never served in a soup kitchen I urge you to do so. Put it on your bucket list, leave you comfort zone and serve the poor. See what the low end of the social spectrum is like. Witness it without judgement. Witness it with empathy and compassion. You will be distressed, you will be emotionally torn, you will weep, but you will be blessed at the same time.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 13:52:35 +0000
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