February
From the Zion Personal Essentials Pantry As I write this, our nation is celebrating
the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr., to bring civil rights and economic freedom
to all people, especially (but not only) people of color. Thousands if not tens
of thousands will be reciting King's immemorial speech, "I Have A Dream." We have
a dream, too. We have a dream that we'll have enough funding to be able to meet
at least 75% of our guests' needs, not the paltry 30-50% we meet now. We have
a dream that there will be enough agencies aware of and addressing this need that
the people we serve won't have to drive half an hour (or more) to reach us. We
have a dream that, as a society, we'll be willing to face the reality that half
or more of this country's people live in poverty or near poverty. We have a dream
that, as a society, we'll put real effort into supporting people in need, without
making them prove that they're "worthy" of support. We have a dream that companies
big and small, from Main Street to Wall Street, will that workers are a resource
to be cherished, not an expense to be cut and cut and cut again. We have a dream
that policy makers and government agencies, from the smallest village council
to the national Congress, will understand that none of us is free unless all of
us are free, and than none of us is truly rich unless all of us have enough. We
have a dream, in fact, that we will no longer be needed. But, like King's dream,
our dream is still far from fulfillment. We ask your help in making our dream,
and King's dream reality.
Christine
Okay, I admit it; there are times I get edgy with guests at the Pantry - a little
testy, a little cross around the edges. And one of the things that'll really get
on my nerves is when a guest says, "But I really, really need it!?" Like "really,
really need it" will put the product on the shelf, right? And then a week or two
ago, I had a guest talking to me before she even finished registering, wondering
about a couple of products that - as it happened - were in stock, but that she
wanted to be sure she was going to be offered: "I really, really need laundry
soap and dish soap!" And I realized that, all too often, in all too many places,
the folks we serve do have to prove their need, do have to say, "But I really,
really need it!" We seem to treat folks in poverty like children who asking for
special favors. Remember when you were a child, asking your folks for that special
toy or that new CD or that new version of the whatever-it-was that was so hot
and popular? "But Mom, I really, really need it!" And sometimes that "Mom, I really,
really need it" wasn't much of a need after all - it was more of a "I really,
really want it."
However, the products we provide here at the Personal Essentials Pantry aren't
luxuries or whims - they're the stuff we all need, day in, day out, week in, week
out. The folks we help aren't any different; they also need to take showers or
baths, and brush their teeth, and comb their hair, and wash their dishes, and
clean the bathroom, and…. Maybe what I need to be doing, instead of getting tense
and edgy, is to reassure my guests that we do understand that they need these
products, and that they don't have to convince us that they really, really need
them. Then maybe I can calm down enough that next time I can respond with "Yes,
I understand; I'm sure you do need that, and we'll see what we can do to provide
it." And maybe all of us, as members of a common society, as members of the family
of God, can start living out God's kingdom, can start living out the belief that
no one should have to plead "But I really, really need" decent housing, access
to affordable transportation, healthcare, edu-cation, and an income they can live
on….
Christine Thompson
Coordinator, Personal Essentials Pantry
So, it's Thursday morning at the Personal Essentials Pantry, and we're swamped
before we've even opened. There are already some 30 households out in the Fireside
Room, we've gone through two pots of coffee and all the snacks, the coffee cups
are starting to stack up, and all of the Pantry volunteers are totally involved
in registering guests and filling orders.
And then, half an hour after we have opened and are beginning to catch up with
the rush, if not the coffee and snacks and dishes, one of the volunteers comes
back from delivering an order, and tells me that the coffee cups have been washed
- one of the guests has taken care of it. She describes the guest, and I realize
that it's a familiar guest, who's taken it on herself to wash the cups and other
dishes any time she comes in to the Pantry. It's something she enjoys doing, and
a way of saying thank you for what she receives from us.
And I'm reminded once again that we can't make pre-sumptions about the folks who
need our services; they're families who lack financial resources, yes, but that
doesn't mean that they lack skills, or talent, or the capacity to share and give
with others. Yes, people sometimes fall into need because they've made bad decisions,
or because they lack marketable skills - but sometimes they fall into need because
of health catas-trophe, or because the business they worked for relo-cates to
a more favorable tax climate, but they're still people who have gifts to share,
who have contribu-tions to the kingdom of God. 'Cuz that's what we're all supposed
to be doing: liv-ing lives of compassion and love, sharing the bless-ings God
has given us, whatever those blessings may be, with those who need them.
In Christ's service,
Christine Thompson
Coordinator, Personal Essentials Pantry
I'd like to introduce you to Jane. You won't have heard about Jane
anywhere; she's never been featured in Madison magazine, she hasn't made the evening
news; her picture isn't on any billboards.
Jane's got a disability that prevents her from working, so she's
one of those so-called freeloaders who use up our tax dollars. But what she's
using up doesn't go very far; in fact, her monthly disability check doesn't even
cover her rent, and her food stamps are only $50 a week.
But Jane's not sitting at home staring at the four walls and vegetating.
I've known Jane for a couple of years now; she's not a frequent visitor
to the Pantry, but we see her every few months. A couple of months ago, she had
a question for me: she wasn't sure how she was going to cope with a traffic ticket
she'd gotten. It wasn't anything very serious, and it only amounted to a $90 ticket,
but when your in-come doesn't even cover your rent, $90 is kind of hard to scrape
together. Could she work as a court-ordered vol-unteer for us? Well, $90 is only
9 hours, which is well be-low our normal "floor," but knowing how hard $90 would
be for Jane to come up with, I told her, "Sure-but I don't know if I can put you
on a regular shift."
So last Thursday, Jane was at the Pantry -actually helping out a
friend by driving her over and helping her register. "Gee, Jane," say I, "we're
a little short-handed this afternoon; any chance you could work the 2:00-4:00
shift?" "Sure," says Jane; "I'll be happy to."
Well, Jane did work that shift-though not exactly starting at 2:00.
It seems that she not only drove her friend home (home is the far west side, and
we're on the near east side of town), she offered a ride to another Pan-try guest
(a stranger to Jane until that moment), dropping her off downtown, and then she
came back to pick up an-other Pantry guest and take her grocery shopping and then
home. So Jane got here at 2:30, not 2:00-but it seemed to me a more than excusable
tardiness. And then I found out that this is how Jane stays busy during the week:
she helps out driving people where they need to be, and running errands with and
for them.
So when Jane wanted to know, "Is it all right with you if I stay
on as a volunteer after I finish my 9 hours?" my answer was easy: "Absolutely!"
Jane may use up some tax dollars, but she also gives back-a lot -
in ways that few politicians or govern-ment officials or even just plain taxpayers
will ever see or recognize. Which is too bad? God bless Jane.
Christine Thompson, Director
Some of the items needed by the Personal Essentials Pantry are .....
* toothpaste * shampoo * toilet
paper * deodorant
* laundry soap * Kleenex * bar soap
Donations can be left in the grocery cart found in the church narthex.
Non-perishable food items can be left in the 2nd gro-cery cart for the WilMar
Food Pantry. Useful items are:
* canned fruits and vegetables * cereals *
rice and pasta
* baby food * canned tuna, chicken and other meat *
peanut butter
