November 22, 2011
"We are going to Feed 5000 people in 2011. How does that grab ya? Jesus drew a large crowd and as the dinner hour approached, the disciples wanted to send the crowd away to eat. Jesus addressed them directly: "You give them something to eat." The story ends with an accounting that 5000 men, as well as women and children, were fed that day. Today, Jesus is speaking just as directly to us as the Body of Christ: "YOU give them something to eat." The recent economic struggles have placed great strain on families, men, women, and children, who are just existing on the margins. This Body of Christ is going to do something about that. We have heard the cries of the hungry and we will respond with food for their bodies and grace for their spirits." - Merriam Christian Church Newsletter, November 24, 2010
Dear Friends,
It was one year ago this week, in the presence of Thanksgiving, that Merriam Christian Church declared they would feed 5000 people in 2011. MCC saw a need in the community, and responded as the Body of Christ. We tried to respond as Jesus would respond: by feeding the hungry. In 2011 MCC has boarded buses to go out and feed strangers. We have served hot meals at an open-door kitchen. We have delivered backpacks and snackpacks to hungry children in our neighborhoods. We have treated the police officers to homemade cookies and the firemen to a home-cooked meal. We have fed hardworking public school teachers. We have provided meals to families suffering loss. We have graced service people with a gift of chocolate. We have collected soup and baby food and potatoes and peanut butter and juice boxes and granola bars and canned veggies and canned fruit and ramen noodles and jello for food pantries and meal assistance. We have delivered meals to people unable to adequately get out on their own. We have bought meals for strangers. We have fed a Thanksgiving meal to 50 hungry families. And through it all, MCC has sought to give with graciousness and kindness and love.
It had been an amazing year. MCC has fed almost 14,000 people so far in 2011. God's spirit has been moving and touching the people we have reached out to touch. MCC has been a conduit for God's grace to get out to the world. FOURTEEN-THOUSAND lives have been changed, even if just a little, because disciples desired to be a little more like Jesus this year. I am awestruck at what God can do when the Body of Christ opens up and says, "Use us for your will, O Lord." When I sit down this Thursday and contemplate what I am thankful for; it will be for everyone who have gone out this year and done these fantastic things in the name of Christ. As you sit down this week to break Thanksgiving bread, be thankful for opportunities to serve and resources to share. It has been quite a year, and I, for one, can not wait to see what God has in store next.
God Bless
Mark