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Food Waste to Food Security: Sharing Meals and Christ’s Love in Vancouver

aheckman — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 21:29:11 +0000

Food Waste to Food Security: Sharing Meals and Christ’s Love in Vancouver aheckman Thu, 06/13/2024 - 21:29

Food Waste to Food Security: Sharing Meals and Christ’s Love in Vancouver

JUNE 13, 2024 - AMY HECKMAN

In Vancouver, Washington, four tiny house villages—called Safe Stay communities—provide a safe place for people experiencing homelessness to find shelter and transitional housing. When Pastor Kevin Campbell-White and his wife Jeni drove by one of these villages several months ago, they had the passing idea to try to connect their church (Hillcrest Church of the Nazarene) with the city to support Safe Stay residents.

Just a few days later, the church received a call from a local Chipotle restaurant about to open in their neighborhood. The caller explained the store was training staff that week, leaving hundreds of pounds of fresh salads, tacos, burritos, and more they couldn’t sell. Unless the managers could find a partner to distribute the food where it could be used, it was destined for the dumpster.

Pastor Kevin was certain this wasn’t a coincidence, and he knew exactly where the meals should go—the tiny house communities.

Hillcrest Church leadership agreed to help. First, pastors held training sessions for members to learn how to care sensitively for these residents. Then, over the course of five days, Hillcrest Church volunteers distributed more than 1500 pounds of fresh Chipotle meals to vulnerable people in Vancouver and nearby Portland, Oregon. Often, volunteers spent time with recipients and prayed with those who desired spiritual care.

“It was kind of exciting as we got to be the hands and feet of Jesus and distribute all of this food,” shared Pastor Kevin. “We [then] continued the relationship with Chipotle for over a month as they dialed in their processes.”

This past May, another Chipotle opened in downtown Vancouver, and Hillcrest Church, along with another group, was invited to partner with the restaurant to distribute more training meals. This time, meals reached other ministries in the city including a women and children’s shelter and food banks. The volunteers are preparing to do the same thing when two more restaurants open in Portland, Oregon, this July. Joining the Hillcrest team will be members from Portland Central Church of the Nazarene, a congregation that already offers a homeless shelter and recovery program on their campus.

Through all of the joy of this newfound compassionate ministry, church members are focused on sharing the good news of God’s love with each meal they share.

“Our goal is to do things where we get to tell the story of what God’s doing rather than what we’re doing,” explained Pastor Kevin.

Currently, Hillcrest Church leaders are exploring the idea of starting a related non-profit organization to create long-term sustainable relationships with grocery stores and restaurants willing to donate food regularly.

“God has put this together in such a way where all we have to do is show up, and we get to be a blessing,” said Pastor Kevin. “As God opens doors, we continue to walk through them, and we’ll see where it takes us. We get to be the participants in a really cool story.”

Food Security

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Live Compassion

Compassion

Ministry in Maui: Hope After the Fires

aheckman — Fri, 31 May 2024 19:31:22 +0000

Ministry in Maui: Hope After the Fires aheckman Fri, 05/31/2024 - 19:31

Ministry in Maui: Hope After the Fires

MAY 31, 2024

When wildfires devastated parts of the island of Maui, Hawaii, Nazarene churches were there to provide hope and healing. Now that the initial relief work is done, the focus of these congregations is shifting to providing long-term, sustainable compassionate ministry in their community. Learn more in the video below.

Breaking Down Barriers

aheckman — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 20:42:08 +0000

Breaking Down Barriers aheckman Thu, 02/09/2023 - 20:42

Breaking Down Barriers

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 · BY DENISE AND PHIL ANDERSON, CACTUS NAZARENE MINISTRY CENTER

Cactus, Texas, is a small town of about 3,100 people, a large number of whom are living as refugees or immigrants. The town is truly multicultural, with people from North and Central African countries, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

In fact, it is this population of Cactus that encouraged the West Texas District Church of the Nazarene to start a compassionate ministry here. With so many different ethnicities in one small town, the socioeconomic, cultural, linguistic, and religious barriers have caused significant segregation, especially among those who are new to the area. It is this diversity and this segregation that inspired us to come together to build a community that is culturally diverse, trusting, loving, and mindful of one another. Cactus Nazarene Ministry Center (CNMC) was born.

One way we have found to foster community is through offering English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, which have been part of CNMC’s ministry since the beginning. Students from the community join a class based on their language level, and conversation practice in the advanced classes helps pique the students’ interest to learn more about one another. From the very first class, each student is encouraged to find a partner who can speak English with them.

Some of the staff have been recruited to sit and have one-on-one conversations, which often include asking about the student’s culture, language, family, and current life situations. The cultural diversity of our staff and the diversity of our students make this one-on-one time incredibly rich. Elsowar, a student from Sudan, explains that the very act of conversing helps build confidence and relationships.

“You can understand what they are talking about,” he explains. “Just being able to communicate with other people can help you develop relationships.”

Through the ministry, the desire is that each of us would grow to understand others better—that those in the classes would not simply learn a new language but come to realize the things we share. While learning English is part of job training and access, many students have also come to realize the benefits of simply being in class—learning a common language and getting to know one another. It also helps parents support their children academically, since the children’s homework is in English.

“We are now friends because we come to class together,” one student said. “I also am able to find more people to get to know from other countries at work, or at shops, and we can communicate in English if both people can speak it well.”

Teaching English is one of the holistic ministries we focus on as we serve the many cultures of Cactus. In the coming months, Cactus International Church, a church plant that will create another safe and inviting environment that promotes oneness, will open its doors. The new church will invite the many cultures of Cactus to be, live, and worship together.

“I am able to share about my culture with others, including the food and how I live,” another student shared. “If you have a common language, then there is good listening, good talking, good meeting with other people."

This story taken from the latest issue of NCM Magazine.

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From the Magazine

Compassion

Refugee and Immigrant Support