What a Week!

When I came in to the office this past Tuesday, the Tuesday Morning Team (headed up by Suzanne Kull) was quickly finishing their preparations for Wednesday’s Largest Table. The timing could not have been better because as they were finishing their work the sewer had just begun to back flow into the kitchen. Little did we know then what a challenge would ensue.

Bonnie quickly called Rescue Rooter and they were able to get a team out to help us about 4:00 p.m. Rescue Rooter called it a night about 10:00 p.m. and came back first thing the next morning, along with the company, PureClean, who we called in to clean and sanitize the kitchen. After both companies had worked for a couple of hours on Wednesday morning it became clear that we would not be able to serve the luncheon in Fellowship Hall that day. The clean up job had become massive and we still had not determined the exact source of the problem.

That Wednesday morning I experienced The Largest Table as I have never experienced it before. Not once did I hear words of frustration or irritation. “Let’s move it outside” one person said. “How great that we planned to have picnic food!” said another. The PureClean team sanitized a path through the kitchen so that we could cart out the food. The work table in the office was set up to prepare our usual dessert smorgasbord. Tables were taken outside and everyone seemed to take delight in the new set up. Two guests took me aside to express their gratitude for the meal taking place in spite of the challenges and uncertainty we were facing. I appreciated their kind remarks, but even as they said them I knew our volunteers had never even considered canceling.

By the end of Wednesday, we realized that we were facing much more than a stopped up drain. By then, Gary Baas, Mike Rangel and David Wolfe were all on board with their own questions, concerns, and expertise. Together, with Dallas from Rescue Rooter, Mike and Gary sought to determine the extent of the problem and the appropriate course of action. It was pretty much a non-stop investigation through Friday morning! As of this writing, we are still waiting on all of the bids but we know that the work is going to be extensive.

This past week’s lectionary reading was the story of Mary and Martha found in the gospel of Luke. Jesus criticizes Martha, who was hard at work in the kitchen, for being “distracted by many things.” Often this story is interpreted to suggest that Mary’s listening and attentiveness were “better” than Martha’s hard work. As I thought about this text and my experience of the people of St. John’s this week, I realized it was not Martha’s actions that Jesus was so concerned about, but rather her being so distracted.

I am especially grateful for the many people at St. John’s who when faced with a challenge are able to set aside differences, focus on the matter at hand, and get to work. Thanks for all you do!

Runners Feeding Others

The Largest Table has been selected as the fund-raising recipient of a newly organized UCC effort, Runners Feeding Others for the Nationwide Columbus Marathon, October 18, 2009. If you are participating with the race, please consider linking up with RFO to make your marathon (or half-marathon or 5K race) about more than just exercise.

Runners Feeding Others is the creation of Steve Wylie, a running member of First Grace United Church of Christ in Akron. He dreamed up the concept before competing in the Cleveland half marathon in May, and came home with donations for 2,500 pounds of food for the First Grace food pantry. Conference Minister, Bob Molsberry, thought that was a pretty good idea, so he's bringing it to the Nationwide Columbus Marathon (where he finished second last year). Rev. Leslie Carole Taylor, pastor of Trinity UCC in Thornville, is bringing a team from her church and designing T-shirts to commemorate the event. Want to get involved? Here's how:

• Share this initiative with others who might be participating in the Columbus Marathon races October 18.
• Contact Bob Molsberry (bobm@ocucc.org) to sign up for the very loose "team" that is being created. No worries about pre-existing conditions, dues, qualifying pace standards, or income levels. No meetings to attend. Just sign up, solicit donations for The Largest Table, run your race, and send your money in.
• Send checks on behalf of your favorite runner to The Largest Table, St. John's United Church of Christ, 59 East Mound Street, Columbus, Ohio, 43215. (If you didn't have a favorite runner, you do now. Bob Molsberry will be glad to forward your donations to St. John's.)
  
  Technical T-shirts will be available before the race. Price and design will be forthcoming. You must pay in advance (checks to Ohio Conference UCC, 6161 Busch Blvd. #95, Columbus, OH 43229).
  
  

Manna from Heaven!

One person called it, "manna from heaven!" She was referring to the amazing generosity of so many people over the past several weeks to The Largest Table. Jerry, a new member who worked at The Ohio State Fair, coordinated getting us all of the leftovers from the Ohio Poultry Association - we're talking hundreds of pounds of mashed potatoes, chicken, and turkey and other wonderful food! Suzanne, a friend a St. John's, linked up with the Leave A Mark Church who has planted an incredible community garden this year. For the past several Tuesdays Suzanne has been harvesting fresh vegetables from the garden, bringing them to St. John's, and cleaning them all so that they are ready for our Wednesday crew to prepare the next day. To see photos of the "first harvest" go to the Leave A Mark web site, click-on the “What We Do” link and then “Community Garden.” This is easy to navigate but for some reason I was unable to connect the link here.

On Wednesday, as I sat with guests at The Largest Table, I heard comment after comment about how great it was to have fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, and of course a regular favorite - Nancy Dietz' taco salad. A couple of people mentioned that is so rare for them to eat fresh vegetables ... and these were so fresh you could smell that they were picked the previous day!

Amidst all of these generous gifts of food, we have lost some of our regular volunteers. A couple of people have left because of illness, and several other summer volunteers are heading back to school next week. As our guest list continues to increase, we are in need of some more volunteers. I am hoping they might fall from heaven, too - a few to help serve on Wednesdays from 11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. and a few more saints who can help clean from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Cilantro, Heavy Lifting, and Sales Receipts

The "Tuesday Team" was back at it yesterday; we prepared Mexican Chili for today's lunch at The Largest Table. I woke up this morning looking forward to lunch - the smells were great as we were leaving last night! The chili will be served with a dollop of sour cream and a few snips of fresh cilantro from the children's garden. There was something really thrilling about being able to harvest a huge amount of fresh cilantro from right outside our doors and know that it was the children of the church who planted it. I am sure not everyone will opt for the cilantro garnish today, but I think it is what will make this soup.

I also have a renewed appreciation for Joan and Mary, and our core "Wednesday Team." Between all of the cans of tomatoes, beef broth and black beans that were opened to make chili for 300 last night, I think Latsi was opening cans for more than an hour straight! I am sure she will be able to feel the workout on her arms this morning. And then there was Stephanie who was able to lift our largest pots FULL of browned ground beef, onions, and peppers to drain them and return it the pan. But that is not at all unusual. Our volunteers often need to open that many cans. We always have full and heavy pots. The quantities of food we are preparing now are really quite amazing. I wish I had taken a photo of all of the empty cans - maybe I can get one later today and post it here. Think multiple cases that filled the entire back of my car! So, I have renewed appreciation for the physical labor that our volunteers engage in week after week.

I also have a renewed appreciation for their thriftiness. I am not sure how Joan does it. Routinely, she is able to shop for a meal to serve 200-300 people for less than $200. That is less than $1 per serving for a home cooked meal with all of the food groups. Repeat: I am not sure how Joan does it. I think of myself as a pretty good shopper, but I wasn't quite able to work her magic. I think she has the in with the loaves and fishes guy.

The Tuesday Team

Tonight is the first night of what I hope will be many for "The Tuesday Team." Often people have told me about how they would love to help with The Largest Table but are working, or otherwise committed, on Wednesdays. Last week I sent out an invite for coming in on Tuesday evening and cheffing up everything for Wednesday. The response has been great! Amy Rettig, Stephanie Coplan, Martha Asseff, Courtney Klamar, and Marilyn Potts are helping tonight; and many more said they would like to participate on a future Tuesday but just couldn't make it tonight. I sensed genuine enthusiasm from many possible Tuesday Team members about the idea.

I know there will be equal enthusiasm coming from those who are our regular volunteers on Wednesdays. As The Largest Table continues to grow, so does the demand for volunteers. This extra help will make a big difference to those who come in early on Wednesday mornings. In addition to creating "The Tuesday Team," we would also like to create two different teams for Wednesdays: one for set up and serving and the other for clean-up. I am confident that with some creativity and extra team work we can face the challenges of growth!

Do you have other ideas for expanding our ability to staff The Largest Table and or to serve the city?

Treasure Garden

The east side of the church building has a new look to it. What used to be a green patch currently looks like a bunch of dirt, and with the right amount of TLC this space will soon be sprouting all sorts of vegetables!

The children of the church have planted what they are calling the "children's treasure garden" with the hopes that their produce will provide an abundance for The Largest Table and the food pantry. The kids did an awesome job of planting an assortment of great stuff. They seem pumped up about it - and they should be - this is a big endeavor and they are responsible for nearly every aspect of it. In addition, I am especially grateful for Jim Beaver who prepared the soil, and the Garretts, who helped nurture the plants from seed and who provide much needed guidance for this new project. Scott Schieber has been instrumental as well in not only getting this project going but also keeping "the farm" (as he calls it) watered during the first couple of weeks. We are learning many things as we go!

The next step is to create some sort of schedule for the garden's care. Perhaps in these early stages the kids could take turns being responsible for watering on a specific day of the week. Later, we will not only need to water but also weed and harvest. One of the things we are learning about is the constant care that is needed for steady growth.

Ephesians 4:28

The challenge of the day started with 6 yards of compost mulch. Yesterday, this large amount of compost leaf mulch was dumped on the sidewalk in front of our glass doors, and in front of (as in blocking) the ramp that leads to our essential elevator door!

The mulch was delivered so that it can be tilled into the ground in preparation for this coming Sunday when the children of the church will be planting a garden to benefit The Largest Table. Weeks ago they planted many plants from seed, which the Garretts have been kind enough to tend over the past weeks, and now all of these plants are ready to go into the ground. Jim Beaver has graciously volunteered to prepare the ground. However, our garden experts determined that in order for anything to grow we would need to not only till the ground, but also add lots of good stuff to the earth. That is how we got the mulch!

We have so much going on at the church that this big pile of mulch has provided numerous challenges today. I won't go into all of the details, but I knew we needed at least a path from the drive to the elevator door by the time anyone would arrive tomorrow.

Just as I was contemplating how we might get this done, a guest of The Largest Table showed up looking for some extra work so that he could pay for an $8 prescription. I rarely engage in this type of exchange, but my eyes lit up at the prospect of getting some immediate assistance. I was amazed that his eyes lit up, too, when I showed him the daunting pile of mulch.

Todd told me, "This is great! I love landscaping! And, this is good work for me. Ephesians 4:28,'He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands' I spent enough time doing things that weren't useful. This is just the kind of work that I like to do!" I gave him a shovel and he got to work.

We were both thrilled. Todd has his prescription. We have a pathway. And, Todd told me he would check back in the morning to see if he can finish off the job - not for money, but simply because he likes doing something useful with his hands.

Getting Outside Myself

I have been reading An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor; in it she provides a beautiful reflection on the practice of "encountering others" that I shared with the congregation this past Sunday. Yesterday I realized how I had experienced this - not really from doing anything on my part other than "showing up," but through the grace of others. There is great power in simple encounters.

I will confess that Wednesday I started out feeling a little irritable. It was one of those days I would have preferred to just stick to myself. However, whatever was irritating me was soon erased after the greetings I received at The Largest Table. The moment I came downstairs I was greeted by someone who had not been here for awhile and shared with me how much he missed it, and how he was glad to see me. Everyone was raving about the chili and baked potatoes from Wendy's that the staff and students from The Wellington School had brought for lunch. The news must have spread outside our building because I met a couple of people who told me that they had come because someone had told them what a great meal they had just had. And the music! Wellington also brought several students who played brass instuments and keyboard for our lunchtime entertainment. They were fantastic and the fun atmosphere prompted smiles, laughter, and applause. All of this served to pull me out of my own worries and recognize how much there is to be grateful for.

That evening there were several people at my home for a meeting. While we attended to business, there was also laughter and much genuine give and take about what was going on in our lives. Simply talking with others about concerns I had in my head suddenly made them seem much smaller and more manageable.

There is great power in simple encounters.

Anticipation!

Tonight is Body & Soul, our annual fundraiser for The Largest Table. I woke up early and easily like a child often will when it is Christmas morning, or when he anticipates a full, fun day with his best friend! I know today will be full and fun.

This is the 6th year for Body & Soul. Every year the event has grown, and with growth always comes new challenges. One of the challenges was simply finding a large enough space! This year we are "coming home" to St. John's so that we can accommodate extra people and extra items for our silent auction. I have been amazed at the large number of people who have offered their gifts and expertise to make this a truly wonderful event. From donating or soliciting items, creating a catalogue, decorating, cooking, or simply offering wonderful helping hands, I think we have more people than ever involved in all of the behind the scenes work involved with any big event like this. Susan Olson, the chair of the event, has done an amazing job of pulling forth those gifts and inviting wide participation. I sense the reason so many people are so glad to help is that they care so much about The Largest Table. Watching it all happen reminds me of Feeding the 5000. If we bring and share what we have, there is not only enough - there is abundance!

Pictured here are Pam Yost and Susan Olson working on decorations yesterday. Pam has coordinated them - I have never seen Fellowship Hall look so elegant!

If you don't have your ticket yet ... no problem! Call our office today, or just show up at the door! Body & Soul will begin at 7:00 p.m. I can hardly wait!

I Love Wednesdays!

Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week.

I love coming to The Largest Table. I love the bustling nature of our building on Wednesdays. I love sitting in the sanctuary and simultaneously hearing the sounds of the city and the beautiful sounds of the piano before worship. I love the mix of people and the exuberance with which so many greet one another. I love the great food, and I love sitting down with people over a meal and getting to know them a little more.

I also love it that on Wednesdays I am almost always surprised by someone or something. Sometimes someone will show up who I haven't seen in ages. Sometimes I am impressed by the generosity of someone extending themselves to another. Often, I am touched by the hospitality that is extended to me.


There are times, however, when I find myself reflecting on needs that seem so great and I find myself wishing that we had more resources and more creativity to help some of our guests.

Today I experienced everything I have just described. It was a busy day, and from the moment I walked in until I found myself alone in the building - and still after - I felt a strong sense of the Spirit. As I was packing up my things to head home, I was thinking about one gentleman and how his needs seemed to surpass what we could offer. Just as I was thinking about him I realized there was a message on my phone. It was him. He called and wanted to extend his thanks for all the hospitality he had received from all of those who were present today. He told me it was just what he needed.

Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week.


(Pictured here are our fabulous greeters and just a sampling of our outstanding kitchen crew!)