Each Sunday our volunteers provide a meal of soup, bread, fresh fruit, cake, and hot drinks in the church hall at 57 Wantirna Rd., Ringwood.
Called a 'Community Meal', it is not geared solely toward folk who are
in financial difficulties, but also to those who appreciate or need the
social interaction of meeting together. With this simple meal, our aim
is to share with people from the community the blessings with which the
Lord has so richly endowed us.
Although we have a strict rule of 'no preaching', we pray that God will fill us with His Holy Spirit so that we may be true witnesses of His love, and our thoughts and actions will be to His glory. Jesus shared this abundant love with everyone, without judging whether they deserved it, were hard up, were unwashed, were unbelievers or were rejected by the rest of society; we are simply trying to live by His example.
There are 65 volunteers who are rostered over a 3 month period to attend
to many different facets of the meal; collecting the bread, shopping
and organizing rosters and supplies, providing soup, cake, fruit, financial
donations, flowers, and other items of groceries, as well as the time
and effort of setting up the hall, being at the function to help heat
the soup and serve at the tables, ministering and chatting to the guests,
cleaning up, and of course, those who pray for the venture.
On average over the last 2 years we have had 20 guests each evening. This occasionally includes children.
We thank and praise God for this opportunity to serve Him.