We're All Just People, Aren't We?

This morning, I went and helped out at the food ministry my church does the second and fourth Saturday of each month. I'd never been before, and it terrified me at first. I was the only white person, and it's hard even to pretend to blend in when you have long, blonde hair and the complexion of a Swede. I walked in, talked to a few people, and then bolted. I got back in my car, turned the engine on, and got ready to drive away. I'd come back another time, I thought. But then I took a deep breath and made myself go back inside.

Julius, another member of Asbury Temple, took me on, explaining to me how the food ministry works and taking me through the line to show what kinds of food people can pick up. He was adamant about their insistence on getting fresh produce from the food bank and not just canned goods and snacks.

I was then turned over to the ladies working the table, handing numbers to people as they walked in, calling them up and taking information from newcomers. One man waiting in line saw me smile and called out, "Hey, what's up dimples?" Later that same man was asking me a question, to which I didn't know the answer, and when I apologized for being unhelpful, he just smiled and said, "You'll fit in. You'll get it. I mean, we're all just people, aren't we?"

I watched a woman named Valencia as she handed out numbers and kept track of where we were on the list. From talking to her, I learned that she had started coming to the food ministry when she lost her job, and that she tries to help out sometimes. She's been coming to church at Asbury Temple lately. She just got a new job that starts Monday, so she won't be needing to come back for food. However, she promised she'd come out to volunteer.

When I told him all this, my boyfriend remarked that it's really neat that Asbury Temple can be functional for people like Valencia even though it has become something of a novelty for Duke Divinity students. I think ATUMC has something really good going on, which is why I love it so much. I can acknowledge the white guilt that sometimes compels me in those settings, but I'd be foolish to deny it, and I do feel called to that place, to that community. I'll keep going back to the food ministry and I'll learn even more if I work there over the summer. Maybe, if I'm around long enough, I'll start to learn the names of people who come through every other Saturday. That's a start, isn't it?