day forty: (un)finished!

We're finished with our Lenten culinary care! Well, kinda...

The last day of our Lenten practice was a good transition. We helped serve a meal with others from our church at Triune Mercy Center, a non-denominational mission church that ministers to/with the homeless. We met at the church to prep the food (and talk and hang out), then we headed to Triune to serve.

Getting plates ready to serve

The dining room at Triune

We prepared trays of plates in the kitchen, and (and here's the great part) actually served people at their tables. This was no buffet line or take-out. The homeless and hungry of Greenville are able to sit down and be served. 

It was appropriate, then, that many of the people from our church serving were deacons. Diakonos means "one who serves at table." They were living into their title in a very literal way.

After we finished serving, we set up Triune's sanctuary for the multi-church Easter sunrise service the following morning. And as we left, I thought, "Well...we're finished."

But not quite...

The next morning, as I stood outside the sanctuary after the sunrise service and spoke to those who had worshipped, I found myself in a conversation with Eric, who was homeless and had come to the service. There were about 30 people who were going to eat breakfast at Tommy's Country Ham House next door, and I couldn't stop myself from inviting him to eat with us.

I went and sat down, and even then was thinking, "Why did I do this? I just want to have a nice breakfast with my church people, with Suzy and the baby. I just want to have a normal conversation. I'm finished with this Lenten thing...so why did I invite him over?"

I guess I wasn't finished after all. After forty days of practice and discipline, I don't know if I can just "turn it off." 

So I guess these forty days served their purpose. Culinary care has become ingrained in my life and lifestyle. It looks like I will never really be finished. 

Or, to put it another way, I will always be un-finished.

day thirty: (protect and) serve

The alarm went off at 4:40 a.m. I barely remember getting out of bed and going into the kitchen to preheat the oven. We were baking by 5:00, in the shower by 5:30, and on our way to the jail by 6:15.

We had arranged, through our police officer friend Jeffrey, to take breakfast to some police officers going on duty this morning. Suzy made the cinnamon-pecan ring that we made on day twenty-four (see the link for the recipe), and a breakfast casserole with pancake mix, sausage, eggs, and cheese.

The name is accurate. The sergeant we spoke with told our friend Jeffrey that it was the best casserole he's ever had.

Backstory: Suzy is a serious rule-follower. She can't even fathom disobeying a vocal warning, much less an authoritative sign. The sergeant had instructed us to come to the back door where there are steel columns lining the sidewalk. The trouble with that was that there were huge signs along the drive that read "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. OTHERS WILL BE PROSECUTED. NO ACCESS."  Suzy refused to enter. She made me park at the bottom of the hill for 5 minutes as I assuaged her fears of getting thrown in a jail cell with our son. Once we finally made it to the entrance she apologized to every police officer we passed for breaking the rules. But at least we made it in.

Being at the law enforcement center was like being in a different world. You would never know the kind of activity that happens in the wee hours of the morning, as officers get ready to go out. There are so many people who are coming and going, even at that early hour, preparing for a day ahead. 

Because it was so early in the morning, we completely forgot to take any pictures of the food or people. So as we pulled out of the parking lot, Suzy snapped this masterpiece in her pre-dawn delirium. It's supposed to be a picture of some officers standing by their cars in the parking lot. 

All of the officers we met were so thankful for the simple gift of a homemade breakfast before they went on shift. But it was our small way of thanking them for doing what they do. All of them have taken on the responsibility "to protect and serve." Today, we were able to serve them.