Come by Church of the Reconciler around nine o’clock in the morning Monday through Thursday and you’ll find folks lined up at the kitchen window waiting for their morning coffee to wake them up. On these mornings we serve 50 to 80 people a warm cup of coffee, with a lot of sugar and creamer for most folks, and their first bite of food. We also have a fellowship meal every Sunday after our worship service - where we gather around tables and share a hot meal together.
Recently, Mark, a member of our church community, while waiting in line to get coffee and food, said “Y’all are treating people right here!” Later that morning he described some of the struggles faced by people that come to COTR as the “tools of Satan.” He continued, “But you all are the tool of God.”
In the next several blog posts, we will be taking a look at the different ministries of COTR. As I look at our food ministry, I’m wondering how meeting a basic need for folks, like food and coffee in the morning, is a “tool of God”? In other words, why should the church be involved in sharing meals and giving others food?
First, God is, as biblical scholar Doug Campbell points out, “a giving God all the way down, as seen in the greatest gift imaginable - Jesus. And God is this way because he is loving all the way down. To love is to give (emphasis mine).” This understanding of God led the churches in the New Testament to give to one another in concrete ways.
One of these concrete ways of giving involved one of our most basic needs - food. Campbell argues that shared meals were a daily practice in some, if not all, of the New Testament church communities. As these Christians gathered each day they were, as Campbell points out, “meeting a major need directly - the need for food.” When we share food at Church of the Reconciler we are following the model of ministry set up by the New Testament churches over two-thousand years ago. What’s more, we are following our generous God who “gives food the hungry” (Psalm 146:7)
Not only do New Testament churches give us reason for sharing food and meals - the father of Methodism, John Wesley, also leads us in this direction. As all Methodists surely know, the “means of grace” are, Wesley taught, the ways God gives or conveys God’s grace. Feeding the hungry is one of the means of grace. Wesley even says that “works of mercy”, which includes feeding the hungry, should take priority over works of piety. In a sermon titled, “On Zeal”, Wesley preaches the following:
Whenever, therefore, one interferes with the other, works of mercy are to be preferred. Even reading, hearing, prayer, are to be omitted, or to be postponed, ‘at charity’s almighty call’ - when we are called to relieve the distress of our neighbor, whether in body or soul.
Of course, the food ministry at Church of the Reconciler is only possible because of the generosity and service of our many partner churches. We are grateful for your continued support!
The service of our partner churches leads to a third reason our food ministry is, as Mark described it, a “tool of God.” When a partner church serves food at COTR or shares a fellowship meal on Sunday mornings, the partner church is also served. Again, Wesley’s understanding of the “means of grace” is helpful.
Giving food is one of “the usual channels” of God’s grace to people. The grace at work here isn’t just for the person being served—it’s for the one serving, too. Both the giver and the recipient are on the receiving end of God’s grace. That’s why our food ministry at COTR isn’t just a ministry to those who need food; it’s a ministry to everyone - because everyone needs God’s grace.
Thank you to all of our partner churches that participate in our food ministry! You enable us to be the “tool of God” as we give food and together experience the gift of God’s grace. If your church is interested in being more involved in our food ministry at COTR, please let us know.
We invite you to join us for worship every Sunday at 9:30 and stick around for the fellowship meal. If you have a church home, we appreciate your support of our church through sharing what God is up to here, praying for us, or making a donation by clicking here.