With the lumber industry severely restricted and now in economic recession, there are plenty of people in Sweet Home who are out of work and out of groceries in the cupboard. That’s why we created the weekly free meal at the United Methodist Church. We call that meal “Manna.” It’s been going for five years now.
A 13th-century poet has been stirring the pot of Manna. Jelaluddin Rumi, the Sufi poet, commented on our Manna program, though his commentary was delivered seven centuries ago. What Rumi remarked on was the fact that Tim and Bonnie came over from the Fir Lawn Lutheran Church when they heard about the weekly free meal. Tim settled in washing dishes, while Bonnie helped cook and serve.
Clarence and Annona soon joined them. The two of them took to setting up the dessert table, than washing down the dining room tables after dinner.
Right now, there are four additional churches helping to put the meal together and to clean up afterward.
The first happy surprise in the life of Manna has been these volunteers from other faith communities who have joined us in the work.
A second happy surprise was Larry, one of the Manna regulars. On his own hook, Larry began taking his chainsaw and filling his pickup truck with wood and then delivering that wood to whomever he heard needed it. He was soon joined by a couple of Manna buddies. This past winter, they cut and delivered about 30 pickup loads of wood around town to folks without heat.
A third happy surprise was the invention of “Nuts for Jesus.” It’s a joyous tongue-in-cheek sort of business activity to generate dollars to support Manna. We put hazelnuts and walnut meats into small plastic bags, staple on a label, then sell them at bazaars and by mail.
At first, volunteers from the church, as well as from the Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon groups that meet in the church, helped us crack the nuts, separate the nut meats and package the product.
More recently, we’ve been able to pay a few people from the Manna group a modest wage to do some of that work. It’s not much, but hey, when you are trying to get by on a Social Security disability check and you only have about $20 disposable income in your monthly budget, a little nut money comes in handy.
Rumi put it like this: “Love the pitcher less; love the water more.” That is, a church (or a mosque, synagogue or temple) is a container within which one might encounter the sacred. That encounter is the water; love it more. Alas, a slew of people today regard organized religion as a bunch of rituals, ceremonies and practices designed to prevent exactly such encounters with the sacred.
Up in Sweet Home, Rumi is leading us to try to change all that. In Rumi, we see the sacred in people helping people.
Rod Fielder is a member of Sweet Home United Methodist Church. This column is coordinated by Lane Interfaith Alliance, a network of more than 30 religious and spiritual traditions in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, visit www.laneinterfaithalliance.org or call 344-5693.