We started out at First Presbyterian in the Senior High room of the Kinhart Center. It took a little while to get all the participants together and in the room, but once we were all there Bob, the rector from St. Anne's opened the retreat with a few words of welcome and told the group how proud all the churches were of them for even undertaking this challenge and then lead us in prayer. We did introductions and played a few ice breaker, getting to know you type of games since we had youth from 4 different churches and many different schools who had never met before.
At 11 we headed down to St. Anne's and turned their parish hall into a sandwich making assembly line. We made and bagged over 700 sandwiches with supplies provide by Happy Helpers for the Homeless and with the lunch meat that the youth brought. Each participant was asked to bring 4 pounds of lunch meat. (side note - Steven and Martin brought a 10.5 pound spiral cut ham which we ended up not using!). We filled all the plastic bins that Bobbi gave us and a few shopping bags of our own. We also packed 26 lunch bags with 4 sandwiches, a juice box, trail mix, tasty cakes, and a hospitality bag to distribute in Glen Burnie. The hospitality bag consisted of a pair of socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and soap. We then drove to Harundale Presbyterian Church where a group was waiting as they are every Saturday to be fed by Happy Helpers. We were filling in for Bobbi and her volunteers on this particular weekend while they were throwing an Easter Party for a group of Guatemalan families on the eastern shore. We were a bit late and didn't pull up in the right spot which the group was quick to point out, but they were very appreciative of the lunches. This gave the youth a chance to interact with people that are experiencing hunger and homelessness on a regular basis very close to the suburban comfort that we happen to be fortunate enough to live in. I saw several folks that I recognized from the Winter Relief shelter that is run in our county. Our church hosts it for a week every February. One guy greeted me like I was a long lost friend and I felt just the same upon seeing a face that I recognized when I turned around to hand over the lunch bag. I met a lady with a small girl of 7 or 8 years old who inquired about the Easter Basket that Bobbi Coffman makes for her every year. There were elderly folks - one lady in a motorized chair; blacks, whites, and Hispanics; men, women and children. There was no one thing to unify this group except the fact that they needed food and knew where to come to get it on a Saturday afternoon. The rest of the sandwiches were delivered to a 7-Eleven where Bobbi has arranged for them to be stored in the walk in cooler until Sunday when her next group of volunteers would pick them up to take into Baltimore for distribution. I am looking forward to working with Happy Helpers again very soon.
Next we headed back to St. Anne's to spend some time studying, discussing and reflecting on hunger. We spent some time with the materials provided by World Vision and reviewed hunger statistics. We then read and discussed the gospel story of Jesus feeding the thousands. Dan explained how what we were doing was important as a spiritual discipline for our own growth, but that it could be an even more powerful act if, like Jesus we did it publicly and challenged affluent Annapolis to stop and think about those that are hungry. A discussion followed and the youth decided that they would like to go out into the streets with signs filled with hunger statistics and make a public witness about their famine and about what Jesus taught. So we cut up cardboard boxes and grabbed poster board, split into three separate groups and marched through busy tourist filled downtown Annapolis like a cross between panhandlers and the anti-tobacco ads to tell folks about our famine. Each group had at least one youth with a sign that said "I'm hungry, Ask me why!" My group got many "whys" and lots of funny stares. One group was actually heckled by a 60 year old woman who said "Its called E-A-T!" I think she missed the point.
During the time that we would normally be having dinner we headed to Severna Park for a few hours of bowling. This was probably one of the hardest parts of the weekend for most of us. We were surrounded by pizza, popcorn, nachos, and pitchers of soda. Our group was horrified to watch the young ladies bowling in the lane next to us barely touch their nachos and then casually toss them in the trash uneaten before leaving. I doubt that any of us would have paid that simple act any attention on a normal day.
After bowling we headed down south to All Saints Episcopal Church in Calvert County for the night. We had some free time to explore and hang out and then turned off all of the lights for a youth group favorite - Sardines. (For anyone who isn't familiar with Sardines it is a variation on hide-n-seek with only one person hiding and everyone else searching for them. When the hider is found, you hide with them until everyone is packed into the hiding space like sardines and one poor soul - me in our first round - is wandering the dark building wondering where everyone else has gone). We had hoped to have some time for quiet reflection to use their labyrinth, but unfortunately it was raining. August and the youth from All Saints then prepared the sanctuary and we had a candlelit evening prayer service (Compline) to end the day.
We got up Sunday morning and had a brief time of reflection before 6 of the youth that volunteered to read in the service headed off to prepare. The palm Sunday service at All Saints was very nice and August announced to the congregation who the unfamiliar faces from our group were and what we had been doing. Our fast was technically broken by communion and the Eucharist had special symbolism for me this day as I knelt and waited for the elements to be be handed to me. I couldn't help but make the connection to a soup kitchen line and the grace of a gift freely given. One of the most powerful communions that I have ever participated in.
Our youth did a great job reading their parts and when the service was over we all rushed to the parish hall to finally eat. We had lasagna (meat and veggie), mac n cheese, bread and a variety of apples to choose from. Well worth the wait.
All in all it was a great event and I'm so proud of everyone. Dan and August were wonderful to collaborate with and the youth make me love my job more every day.
Pictures
At 11 we headed down to St. Anne's and turned their parish hall into a sandwich making assembly line. We made and bagged over 700 sandwiches with supplies provide by Happy Helpers for the Homeless and with the lunch meat that the youth brought. Each participant was asked to bring 4 pounds of lunch meat. (side note - Steven and Martin brought a 10.5 pound spiral cut ham which we ended up not using!). We filled all the plastic bins that Bobbi gave us and a few shopping bags of our own. We also packed 26 lunch bags with 4 sandwiches, a juice box, trail mix, tasty cakes, and a hospitality bag to distribute in Glen Burnie. The hospitality bag consisted of a pair of socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and soap. We then drove to Harundale Presbyterian Church where a group was waiting as they are every Saturday to be fed by Happy Helpers. We were filling in for Bobbi and her volunteers on this particular weekend while they were throwing an Easter Party for a group of Guatemalan families on the eastern shore. We were a bit late and didn't pull up in the right spot which the group was quick to point out, but they were very appreciative of the lunches. This gave the youth a chance to interact with people that are experiencing hunger and homelessness on a regular basis very close to the suburban comfort that we happen to be fortunate enough to live in. I saw several folks that I recognized from the Winter Relief shelter that is run in our county. Our church hosts it for a week every February. One guy greeted me like I was a long lost friend and I felt just the same upon seeing a face that I recognized when I turned around to hand over the lunch bag. I met a lady with a small girl of 7 or 8 years old who inquired about the Easter Basket that Bobbi Coffman makes for her every year. There were elderly folks - one lady in a motorized chair; blacks, whites, and Hispanics; men, women and children. There was no one thing to unify this group except the fact that they needed food and knew where to come to get it on a Saturday afternoon. The rest of the sandwiches were delivered to a 7-Eleven where Bobbi has arranged for them to be stored in the walk in cooler until Sunday when her next group of volunteers would pick them up to take into Baltimore for distribution. I am looking forward to working with Happy Helpers again very soon.
Next we headed back to St. Anne's to spend some time studying, discussing and reflecting on hunger. We spent some time with the materials provided by World Vision and reviewed hunger statistics. We then read and discussed the gospel story of Jesus feeding the thousands. Dan explained how what we were doing was important as a spiritual discipline for our own growth, but that it could be an even more powerful act if, like Jesus we did it publicly and challenged affluent Annapolis to stop and think about those that are hungry. A discussion followed and the youth decided that they would like to go out into the streets with signs filled with hunger statistics and make a public witness about their famine and about what Jesus taught. So we cut up cardboard boxes and grabbed poster board, split into three separate groups and marched through busy tourist filled downtown Annapolis like a cross between panhandlers and the anti-tobacco ads to tell folks about our famine. Each group had at least one youth with a sign that said "I'm hungry, Ask me why!" My group got many "whys" and lots of funny stares. One group was actually heckled by a 60 year old woman who said "Its called E-A-T!" I think she missed the point.
During the time that we would normally be having dinner we headed to Severna Park for a few hours of bowling. This was probably one of the hardest parts of the weekend for most of us. We were surrounded by pizza, popcorn, nachos, and pitchers of soda. Our group was horrified to watch the young ladies bowling in the lane next to us barely touch their nachos and then casually toss them in the trash uneaten before leaving. I doubt that any of us would have paid that simple act any attention on a normal day.
After bowling we headed down south to All Saints Episcopal Church in Calvert County for the night. We had some free time to explore and hang out and then turned off all of the lights for a youth group favorite - Sardines. (For anyone who isn't familiar with Sardines it is a variation on hide-n-seek with only one person hiding and everyone else searching for them. When the hider is found, you hide with them until everyone is packed into the hiding space like sardines and one poor soul - me in our first round - is wandering the dark building wondering where everyone else has gone). We had hoped to have some time for quiet reflection to use their labyrinth, but unfortunately it was raining. August and the youth from All Saints then prepared the sanctuary and we had a candlelit evening prayer service (Compline) to end the day.
We got up Sunday morning and had a brief time of reflection before 6 of the youth that volunteered to read in the service headed off to prepare. The palm Sunday service at All Saints was very nice and August announced to the congregation who the unfamiliar faces from our group were and what we had been doing. Our fast was technically broken by communion and the Eucharist had special symbolism for me this day as I knelt and waited for the elements to be be handed to me. I couldn't help but make the connection to a soup kitchen line and the grace of a gift freely given. One of the most powerful communions that I have ever participated in.
Our youth did a great job reading their parts and when the service was over we all rushed to the parish hall to finally eat. We had lasagna (meat and veggie), mac n cheese, bread and a variety of apples to choose from. Well worth the wait.
All in all it was a great event and I'm so proud of everyone. Dan and August were wonderful to collaborate with and the youth make me love my job more every day.
Pictures
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