Friends and supporters,
The Celebrate Outreach Saturday breakfast and the Missio Dei Sunday dinner continue. Here is an update on the most recent meals:
-Despite the end-of-the-month check arrivals, and despite rain Sunday evening, the number at the Celebrate Outreach breakfast and at the Missio Dei dinner remained about the same. Last weekend the number of people for breakfast was about 85; this most recent weekend the number also around 85. The number for dinner the previous weekend was about 85; last Sunday it was only down to 75. So the need continues.
-On Saturday, we launched the Six Feet Coffee Café. We took orders for what people standing in line wanted in their coffee, prepared it inside the building, and served it with milk, sugar, and social distancing, as seen in the middle photograph above.
-We can still use for three more volunteers on Saturday morning. The volunteers will put the food into the bags in an assembly line, move them to the door, help serve beverages, and clean up afterwards.
-Our menu features sandwiches, a hard-boiled egg, fruit, and dessert along with a main course. For both meals this weekend we offered strawberries. Saturday’s main course was savory egg and bread casserole; Sunday’s was jambalaya. Both were served in a to-go cup. (For those who fear the food may have suffered in GW’s absence: my wife ate our current chef Mary’s jambalaya and said it was as good as GW’s dirty rice.)
-Along with our gratitude to the regular workers, many thanks to the people who have pitched in to help: the Unitarian Universalist Friday Night Picnic group, who make sandwiches for both their Friday night picnic and the weekend meals; Sabine Von Aulock and Jeri Huempfner-Gatz, who serve at the picnic, then deliver food and work at the breakfast; Ryan Jenkins, who has worked at both meals “to give back”; Tom Fauquet and the members of Trinity United Church of Christ for their donation; and the people of Shores of Long Bayou condominium, who have donated food, chopping, cooking, and funds for the meals. Mary, our current chef, lives at Long Bayou. When she mentioned to one of her neighbors that she was helping Celebrate and Missio, the news spread and now many of her neighbors are contributing.
-Since Missio Dei could not hold a Palm Sunday service, The Missio Dei included at palm frond along with the piece of paper with safety guidelines and a Biblical passage. GW, who is Missio’s minister of social justice along with being the regular chef, posted his commentary on the passage at the Missio Dei Facebook page.
We serve at Praise the Lord Ministries, a storefront church at 900C MLK/9th Street South. The volunteers put the food into the bags in an assembly line, move them to the door, help serve beverages, and clean up afterwards. The volunteer time is from 7:00 to about 9:30 AM for breakfast and 4:30-7:00 for dinner. (Breakfast is served at 8:30 AM; dinner is served at 5:30 PM.) We supply the gloves, soap and hand sanitizer; you supply the work. If you can volunteer, or you want more information, contact us here or on our facebook page.
John Stewart