Live the Love In our Local and Global Community
Each month, the Lunch Bunch gathers at Saint Matthew to make a lunch – sandwiches and fruit that is distributed in Camden. Mae Trebing brought the initial inspiration in 2001. Alice Graybill talks about this ministry.
Lunch Bunch is a ministry that is social, is fun, is doing something that matters, and it makes you feel good.
Dick and I have been active for 7 or 8 years. The group can be a half dozen to a dozen. We meet in the Teen Den and assemble sandwiches. It usually takes an hour on Thursday evening, and before COVID we shared ice cream when we were done.
A lunch is two sandwiches, a peanut butter (creamy only) and jelly sandwich plus a meat and cheese. The clients want white bread only, and they tell Bill Lawrence that beef bologna is their favorite meat. The sandwiches originally went to New Vision. Since it closed, they go to Cathedral Kitchen in Camden.
Wegman’s generously gives us a grant each year, which pays for some of the food. Bill Lawrence picks up the supplies Thursday afternoon, Dave Frech delivers the finished food on Friday. We make sandwiches Thursday evening. During COVID we scheduled shifts so as to not have a big group.
My husband Dick keeps track of the sandwiches made, and how far those sandwiches would stretch if laid end to end. Expect an announcement some day when he computes that they would go from St. Matthew to Camden.
Place God First in Your Budgeting and Spending
The Ten Commandments stress that God must be first in our lives. And Jesus said, “Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and all these things shall be yours as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
Many experience difficulty giving generously despite the desire and pledge to do so, because they attempt to give from what is left over at the end of the week or month rather than from first fruits, from all they have received.
The simple practice of placing God and The Church first in budgeting and spending has helped many to experience joy in their giving. When you do this you are giving from all that a good and loving God has provided. And you are practicing stewardship, understanding that you are but a temporary trustee of what God has entrusted to you.