Last Saturday we fed about 200 people.

We gathered in the reception hall where the fragrance of pinto beans and ham hocks, simmering on a restaurant grade stove, filled the entire space.  We whipped up salad and cut the home-made corn bread into generous squares.  Hundreds of cookies were placed in a giant bowl, ready to be placed on plates.

Tables were set with placemats and napkins.  There were tables for couples and parties of six or four.  For those attending this luncheon, people were waited on; orders were taken.  Special attention was given  the small children.  Some tears were wiped and mothers were made to feel at home.  Families came and filled the larger tables.  Seconds and thirds were filled with as much care as the firsts.

The volunteers were, by any standard, elderly.  Bent with arthritis, moving a little slowly, hearing a little impeded, they still walked with grace among those they had come to serve.  Laughter could be heard in the crowded dining room as the servers made up “to go” containers and wrapped extra cookies for the kids.

No sermon was given, no call to conversion, no biblical words spoken. It wasn’t necessary.

The whole thing was a prayer.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 8:41 pm and is filed under Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.