Sunday, June 29, 2025
Sunday Reflection: Among the Chosen
On this past Friday, I walked from work down LaSalle to the Plymouth Congregational church for a meeting of the Justice for All Coalition that I co-founded a few years ago. It's a big urban church that I didn't know, so I wasn't sure how to get in for the meeting. I tried four doors, and they were all locked.
Eventually I spotted people going into a basement doorway, and others coming out with food. Happy to have finally found a portal into the building, I headed in the door.
A friendly guy at the door asked what I needed, and I tried to explain my predicament. He nodded and happily brought me to the end of a line nearby. I figured, at first, that it was a line to get into the church, perhaps through metal detectors (this was so soon after the political murders here, and state legislators were coming to the meeting).
I started to talk to the others in line, and it became clear that I was in the food shelf line-- the church hosts the Groveland Food Shelf for people in need-- rather than some line to get into the church.
Luckily I had (uncharacteristically) arrived a little early so I stayed in the line, long enough to see the food that was being distributed. I enjoyed the company and was really impressed with the food, which included lots of the things I buy for myself.
After a while, I headed off to the meeting (without taking food). It was such a worthwhile diversion. I was tempted to write here that I was "mistaken for someone in need," but the truth is that I was, I am, someone in need-- and that moment fed my soul.
