Pastor’s Pen for October 2020

composite“I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat.” – Matthew 25:35

Beloved of God,

October is a harvest month.  The pumpkins and squash are getting rip, the last of the summer garden produce is being harvested, fresh apples are being picked and making their way to the market.  It’s time for “bringing in the sheaves”—the harvested grain—a sign of God’s providence and plenty.   Our family has long had a tradition of traveling to Jubilee Farm  in the Snoqualmie Valley to join in making fresh apple cider, ride in a wagon behind a team of horses to the pumpkin patch, and witness the hourly hurling of the sacrificial pumpkin using the farm’s famous trebuchet. What fun!  We come back each year with renewed appreciation for what the good Earth produces and for those who work that fertile land so that others may eat.

Yet, in the midst of this time when we celebrate Nature’s plenitude, as Bishop Shelley Wee notes in her column below, nearly 1 in 8 families in our country doesn’t have enough to eat.  The pandemic has only increased the “food insecurity” that many had already been experiencing.  There are a number of ways we can respond to this.  One is through our steady relationship with the White Center and West Seattle Food Banks, both of which have seen a huge uptick in demand since last spring.  Our last Sunday of the month collection of food during worship isn’t an option right now.  The Seafarers Garden helps to fill the gap.  In addition, our AGAPE FUND serves people in desperate need through grocery gift cards as well as other funds for bridging a gap when no other resources are available.  You can read also ready about the importance of ADVOCACY via the Offering of Letters campaign in the pages that follow.  And now, there is another avenue for reaching out:  THE LITTLE FREE PANTRY.

Over a few weekends in August and September, a crew of Peacefolk, using materials donated from Dunn Lumber (arranged by Karl Coy), and seed money from a Thrivent Action Grant, constructed a free-standing, moveable, weatherproof pantry for the neighborhood and anyone in need.  When God calls us to care for the neighbor, God provides what we need to fulfill that call.

Look for the pantry on our westside patio soon!

With you, on the Way.

Pastor Erik

 

 

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