Manda and I took yesterday (Friday) as a true day off; we did almost nothing other than going out to dinner and to the River Walk. So we took much of today off as well, and really only went out for the evening to a place called Target: Dayton. It’s a ministry that our church helps out once a month, and this was that weekend. So we loaded up our gear, plugged the address into TomTom, and made it downtown.
We arrived and walked into a building with several persons waiting in line outside. They took us for volunteers and let us inside, directing us downstairs. We found some more BCN peeps and got our assignment: Tables 11 and 12 (though we still didn’t know what that meant).
We quickly discovered that we were to serve food to the various guests who were attending – many of whom are homeless, but many who also simply need a free meal in this harsh economic climate (Dayton has been hit harder than most cities due to a GM plant that closed here).
Before we served, we attended the Target: Dayton worship gathering (about which I’m blogging on my Xanga). Then we headed back downstairs and – after everyone was seated and a prayer of thanksgiving offered – we began to serve.
I’m not sure I can describe how thrilling it was for me to serve my guests. I had six at my table – a man and two women, all together, and three other men who came by themselves. Two of the men were particularly talkative and we shared stories while I brought them salads, sloppy joes with potato chips and ice cream for dessert, plus water and coffee. They were all kind (most of them were understandably distant), and I found myself thoroughly enjoying this chance to serve them, to treat them as my betters, and to listen to my wife do the same a table away. JC (our executive administrator) and his wife Sheila (our children’s pastor) served near us as well, and several of our new friends came too.
All in all, I loved a chance for us to affirm the humanity of these people; many of them have been devalued by larger society, and I believe that Target:Dayton has found a kind and compassionate way to serve and love them without condescension. And they do it about 6 times every week.
So if you’re visiting us some Saturday, we’re probably going to take you.
