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Three
Vignettes About What Makes Malachi Special
By Mary
Louise
There are so many things we could say about Malachi’s Storehouse. It’s a
little overwhelming. Let me just
share three little stories that happened on one Wednesday, a couple weeks ago. Hopefully they will give you a taste of
how God shows us and blows us away, week after week.
It’s Not
About the Chicken
It is about 1:30 and we are starting the final phase of getting
ready. Chairs are being set up,
tables moved and a volunteer is getting forty pound boxes of frozen chicken out
of the freezer. I am anxious to
get the bags packed and to tell him what other food to put with the chicken. As
I wait, a little impatiently, for him to stack the boxes of chicken, in comes
one of our gleaners, carrying a crate of produce and sandwiches. They begin to talk about some furniture
the gleaner has and who might need it.
I’m thinking, we’ve got a lot of bags of chicken to pack and I wish
they’d hurry up. I turn to get the
yogurt out of the fridge and when I turn back around they are sharing their
stories of addiction, recovery and God’s grace. Two men, one black one white,
brought together by Malachi’s Storehouse. It’s not about the chicken, it’s not
about my agenda, it’s about connecting.
It’s Not
About “Us” and “Them”
Sometimes people show up with dental needs. We have tried, unsuccessfully, several times to find free or
reduced dental care, so we can at least tell them something to try. Each time it has been very
disappointing. So several weeks ago, I was chatting with a newcomer and she
mentioned that she had recently gotten her teeth fixed. I told her I was so glad to hear that,
because so many people have trouble finding free or reduced dentists. She exclaimed that her dentist was just
wonderful and that she had an entire list of places all over the state to get
free and reduced dental service.
When I saw her a couple weeks later, She smiled a huge smile and beamed,
“I brought the list!” I quickly made about 50 copies and told her that she had
really made a difference. It’s not about what I can do for her, it’s not about
“us” and “them,” it’s about community.
It’s Not
About Getting the Spanish Right
Sometimes we have a language barrier. We smile and nod and use our pitiful Spanish in an attempt
to connect. One afternoon, the
connecting piece, was a purse. Several weeks ago A tiny elderly, woman came to
the intake table. As Kathy worked
with her to complete the paper work, she complimented her purse. It was fabulous, sort of a colorful
patchwork. A couple weeks later,
it was me at the intake table and as she and I talked, Kathy said, “I know her,
she’s the one with that great purse!” So we smiled and nodded, like we do, and
she got her groceries and left.
Fast forward to last Wednesday, this woman returns and gives us a
bundle, carefully wrapped in Kroger bags.
I smile and nod, puzzled, but she smiles and nods and insists we take
it. It’s the purse, she’s giving
us her purse. It’s not about getting
the Spanish just right, it’s not about filling out the forms, it’s about love.
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Malachi’s Storehouse OktoberFest Birthday Party
*20 Years of Celebrating God’s Blessings*
Patty Ormsby’s moving video had people reaching for tissues. It opened with the image of a
well-packed Atlanta Community Food Bank truck arriving at St. Patrick’s followed by joyous
people stocking Malachi’s pantry, then distributing food. The video highlighted God’s
abundance and the family relationships that define this special ministry.
Anita Beaty praised St. Patrick’s parishioners for their follow-through with the original dream of
feeding our neighbors in need. The Executive Director for The Metro Atlanta Task Force for the
Homeless, shared her stories of the early days, including praying for a pantry name and God
leading the early volunteers to Malachi’s 3:10.
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be
food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty,
“and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and
pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to
store it.”
As Anita reported, Malachi’s first years were modest and disorganized in their outreach, but
Mary Louise Wilson reported that in 2011 we anticipate feeding over 22,000. She and Kathy
Malcolm Hall shared that they handle their concerns about efficiently feeding so many families
every Wednesday with a mantra that speaks to the heart of Malachi’s—“it’s not about the
chicken”—it’s about community—loving and connecting with each other. Anita, Mary Louise,
Kathy, and Irma Barajas all shared their inspirational stories during the Sunday morning service.
The graphs displayed during OkctoberFest indicate that in the last 5 years, Malachi’s has grown
from feeding 4,500 people a year to feeding over 22,000. A hearty round of applause followed
Mary Louise’s announcement that the amount (69 tons this year) and quality of food has
increased, but Malachi’s “per person” cost has been reduced to an impressive $1.94. Of
course, that price is kept low due to the 120 volunteer hours expended per week.
Those volunteer hours are performed by a long list of supporters that left the presenters in a
quandary—thank some at the peril of leaving someone else out. Doing their best, Mary Louise
and Kathy recognized the following Individuals and organizations: Dunwoody Community
Garden’s Pattie Baker (honored in Oprah Magazine this month), the Adkin’s family, Lorie Tola,
Patty Ormsby, the Baraja’s family, Pebble Tossers, Sister Roberta, The Hope Store, Episcopal
Charities, The Kid in All of Us, No One Hungry, Malachi Reads, Nell’s Produce, the McClellan’s,
Comer and Anne Duncan, Second Helpings, the Delgado’s from My Brother’s Keeper, Carolyn
Warlick and Judy Greig, Jan Schuyler, and Betty Kirkjan. After those acknowledgements, Mary
Louise turned to the congregation and asked those that had been involved with Malachi’s
Storehouse to stand. There was no one left seated in the pews except a couple of visitors and
some children engrossed in reading their books.
The “community” theme continued during the OktoberFest celebration with everyone
contributing his or her time and/or talent. Keith Harper and his army of cooks and grillers
presented a buffet of glorious food—bratwurst, red cabbage, coleslaw, BBQ, German potato
salad and an incredible variety of sweets. The OktoberFest theme was reinforced by the
cheerful purple and orange table décor and by those enthusiastic members that wore
appropriate attire—authentic lederhosen and dirndls. But, the piece de resistance was the
Biergarten in the courtyard and the uniforms worn by the servers. Ooolala!
As everyone ate and toasted Malachi’s Twentieth Birthday, the air was filled with the joyful
squeals of children playing on the inflatable slides and bouncers, and by the beautiful music of
the world renowned Atlanta-based German choral group, Atlanta Sangerkreis. Many of the
families that come to Malachi’s on Wednesday helped us celebrate, taking full advantage of
photo ops with the cutout in the courtyard and placing their laughing children in the “cart” being
pulled around the parking lot.
Father Dick reports that all of the expenses of the OktoberFest celebration were absorbed by
individual contributions and a parish fund budgeted for special events. No Malachi’s
Storehouse monies were used. Donations to Malachi’s Storehouse made during Sunday’s
event came to $3000. Gratefully, those funds allow Malachi’s to purchase enough food to feed
families through Thanksgiving and, hopefully, partway into December. As Mary Louise and
Kathy pointed out, working with Malachi’s forces us to understand that God provides our “daily”
bread, not our monthly or yearly bread—just daily. Trusting that God will pour out his blessings
is what has been the focus of Malachi’s Storehouse all these years. God is always present, but
somehow being part of Malachi’s family opens our eyes and hearts to see the miracles that he
performs daily—but it seems he performs more miracles on Wednesday afternoon between
3:00 and 5:30pm. Just ask anyone that has been there.
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