We Are the Offering
“There is hardly a more gracious gift that we can offer somebody than to accept them fully, to love them almost despite themselves.”
~ Elizabeth Gilbert
Offering. We offer advice. We pass the offering plate. We sit in restaurants and look at the daily offerings. Do we ever stop and consider ourselves as the offering?
It’s easy to fall into the trap of ‘What do I have to offer?’ and then be numbed into passive inaction. Y’all (I am a Southern boy after all) have seen me writing about my church’s Community Meal program many times before. It draws so much out of me and gives me even more back. To recap for anyone who isn’t saying, “Here he goes again,” I am a freshly minted Episcopalian at Trinity Episcopal in Florence, AL, confirmed by our previous, incredible ‘Bishop G’ (The Rt. Rev. Dr. Glenda S. Curry) in December 2025.
It was a seminal moment in my life. When I arrived on Palm Sunday 2025 to worship with this congregation, I knew I had found my home. I scheduled a time to meet with our priest, Reverend Callie Brewton, and talked about my talents and what I felt I had to offer. I didn’t realize how woven into my life being of service in this church would become. I love to cook and feed people – it’s one of my talents and my happy place. So, Community Meal is my jam! Our ‘generalissimo’, Sarah Heckert, knew I was coming, and we had spoken before I walked in the doors, tying my apron on and announcing, “Hands to work - Hearts to God. Put me to work.”
Sometimes I’m helping prepare meals, package meals, wash dishes, or have the blessing of working the door. We offer somewhere around 175-225 hot meals every Monday at 5:30 at the Parish Hall doors. On average, Community Meal includes about 10,000 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in addition to every meal. Yeah, you read that correctly. So far, our highest number has been 237 meals. We used to offer the meals in a sit-down format, but COVID changed that, and it seems our friends prefer that. We’ve realized it allows some folks to take the meals back hot to those who cannot get to us. We ask no questions beyond “How many do you need? Would you like some water?”... Of course, we ask other things since we get to know a lot of our friends, but there is no litmus test about who is asking and if they deserve to be fed. We work from the premise that if you come to our doors, God brought you to us and our job is to make sure you have something to eat. Nobody walks away empty-handed; even if it is with an oddly assorted bag of food from the pantry. We generally distribute those average 200 meals in about 20 minutes. The fastest I’ve experienced was 225 meals in 14 minutes – it was shocking.
Recently, I was asked to man the door. That job entails asking about the number of meals needed and if they would like some water. That’s the perfunctory part of that position. What is really being offered beyond the hot meals is a chance for our friends to be acknowledged, seen, spoken to with kindness, and for just a brief moment, accepted without hesitation. It’s always a guessing game, and lately, the need has increased. Anything that might be left is sent to shelters, given to the homeless that camp near the highway, or distributed to anyone standing outside at income-sensitive housing. Occasionally, I have had the chance to walk outside to try and guess how many meals are likely to be needed and to spend a few minutes talking with the crowd. I’ve listened to concerns, offered hugs, given reassurance, and prayed with people who asked for it. I have seen some tired faces worn by the world we live in, and I’ve seen desperation in the faces of new people in line as they glanced over the shoulders in front of them, wondering if there would be enough. It is humbling.
So, what does all that have to do with ‘offering’? We ourselves are our greatest offering. We have the opportunity every day to be a kindness to someone somewhere somehow – the stranger walking by that makes fleeting eye contact, the mom dealing with a tired, crying baby in the grocery store, the elder needing assistance but not being sure if they should ask for it, the hungry standing at our door, the addict trying to stay alive while they figure it out, the homeless needing everything, the student overwhelmed by their studies who needs reassurance, the overworked co-worker who's just stressed out, the drive-thru window worker handing you your drink and a meal while feeling invisible. We have opportunities to offer ourselves every day. Offer a smile, a “how are you?”...and then really listen, a hug, a break, a “May I help you with that?”, a “Don’t give up. Keep trying. Keep going”, a simple “Thank you (with eye contact)”. Offering ourselves doesn’t always require time or money or training. Offering ourselves simply can mean just being fully present and aware of the opportunities we have to make a difference. There are angels among us – it’s ourselves.
Peace, Love and Light'
Go be the changemakers, the hope, and the difference.
Jonathan Cain is a native of Florence, Alabama, and has been the current Curator for the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art located in Tuscumbia, AL, since January 2020. He served in that role for several years before leaving to pursue a career in education. He holds an undergraduate degree in graphic design from the University of North Alabama and graduate degrees from both the University of Mississippi (MFA – Sculpture) and the University of North Alabama (MA – Clinical Mental Health). He is an eclectic artist who likes to pursue many different media.
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