We call it Neighbors in Need Saturday Morning, but the reality is that Neighbors in Need is busy every day of the week.
On Sundays, the Trinity congregation welcomes any Neighbors who come in to attend worship or maybe just for coffee and a courteous greeting. It's a welcome that stems from habitually practicing welcome, but it is a huge message to an uncertain Neighbor.
Then, there is during the week... John is out shopping on at least two days every week. He is a regular at Edmonds Food Bank where he fills the bed of his pickup with non-perishable nutrition. On a second day of each week, he is at Costco to again fill the bed of his pickup with even more nutrition.
Our breakfast teams can relate to the whole shopping thing. They are the ones who buy the perishables—the burrito ingredients, fruit juices, milk, fresh fruits, and often, biscuits and gravy ingredients.
The team with Advocates Recovery Services are respected distributors of donated coffee, eggs, hoagie sandwiches, breads, etc., etc., etc. It's a big deal that ARS is trusted by several organizations to share appropriately.
The rest of the week could be called "TEAM COMMUNITY." Trinity's office staff fields telephoned requests for help and passes on those needs to NiN volunteers who can refer or "just listen."
AN EXAMPLE FROM LAST WEEK: An NiN volunteer, a Lynnwood Police Department officer, the VOA Cold Weather Shelter volunteers, and Verdant Health staff all teamed up to provide safe shelter for an immigrant mother and her five children who had been put on a plane in Houston and sent to Seattle with no local services notified. This young family are refugees from a small nation in Africa. How and why did they journey to the USA? Our small, ad hoc team is still working together to discern this family's needs and how to direct them toward a healthy and safe future.
Now about Saturday 🙂 🙂
Thank you to Team Pemco!! They've got that burrito shopping and prep down to perfection. They added ham and scrambled eggs plus fruit juice and milk. We sure enjoy having you with us.
The pantry packed and handed out 71 grocery bags. They also provided boxes for two families and healthy food for two dogs. Again, we had some new faces. The hosting skills of the pantry team set the tone for a peaceful morning.
Thank you, everyone, for your work throughout the week and for your prayers that you offer every single day.
JoanFor NiN leadership
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