Today was my first Monday at the clothing ministry. I have been to a sorting event before, but never to the Monday time designated for our guests to come downtown and shop in our huge clothing closet. I was there today to gauge interest in a parenting support class that we are exploring through a grant we can access with CBF. I went to see the children's parents, but I saw so much more.
I saw 36 volunteers from our church and community gathered in that space for the purpose of helping, greeting, being a friendly face, offering a smile and sometimes a hug, and showing up to serve. And serve, they did. In fact, they served 139 people on Monday! Scurrying about, picking up racks of clothes that had fallen, busying the morning with last-minute details as they greeted the people who came. Making plans to meet later this week to sort through donations. These volunteers are the lifeline of this clothing ministry.
I saw so many hurting people. People whose needs are so multi-level. People who aren’t really able to articulate what they need the most. People who long for help. I did see parents and children, grandparents, and single men and single women, old and young, and in between. A single mom who is trying to get her child back from foster care. A single mom who has just been able to have her son live with her again after she’s back on her feet. A grandmother overwhelmed with the two children who came with her and is concerned for the third in elementary school. A man who was just looking for the kind of clothes that would help him get through today. The faces of the least of these. In our presence.
The experience of clothing ministry is just that—an experience. I think every church member should come at least once to this extraordinary opportunity we have right here in our building. You can hear about what the clothing ministry is all about. You can read the reports. You can give so that the supplies we need can be purchased. You can donate clothes, shoes, and other things. You can be a part of making it happen in your own way. But you have to see it to really grasp what it’s all about. Take a Monday off from work. Come even though you don’t know exactly what you’d be doing. Make it a priority to see for yourself. I’m so glad that I was there on Monday. I intend to be there more often.
As we were all wrapping up the morning to leave, I was gathering my things, and I glanced out the window. I saw an older gentleman leaning against the wall outside in the garth. He was holding his bag, which he had gotten clothes in today from the clothing ministry. He was gently shaking out a shirt and folding it ever so carefully to place in his bag. He was treating that shirt like it was the most special thing he owned. The very shirt that you or I might have said we no longer liked or wanted had a completely different meaning to him. It was new. It was special. It was his. What a gift your donation is to someone who needs it.
- Anna Anderson
