United Methodists are transforming the
world by feeding the hungry, and the North
Texas Conference is at the forefront of
providing food to those in need in its area.
This is the second of a two-part series on
two Annual Conference churches that have
innovative approaches to outreach to feed
the hungry.
By SHERON C. PATTERSON
Editor
The Rev. Jay Cole leads First UMC Dallas' program
The pallets of canned goods that
reach the ceiling cannot dwarf the Rev.
Jay Coles' enthusiasm for the ministry
of feeding those in need. Rev. Cole,
associate minister of
First UMC Dallas
and director of the church's
Crossroads Community Services, has revolutionized
fighting hunger.
Clients load their groceries after a visit to CCS"CCS was the first agency in the
United States to provide healthy large
amounts of nutritious groceries to those
in need based on age, gender and activity
level," said Rev. Cole, who
began working there as a
Perkins School of Theology
intern in 2001 and became
director in 2003.
Under Rev. Cole's
watchful eyes, this year
about 4,600 households were
served, which means that
11,600 individuals received
1,320 pounds of groceries.
CCS is in downtown Dallas,
a few blocks from the
church. The program shares
space with The Stewpot, a
Presbyterian outreach to the
homeless. CCS has been a
longtime member agency of
the North Texas Food Bank.
Because of its innovation
of distributing food through
their community partners
(currently 40 sites), FUMC
Dallas recently contracted
with Feeding America to
become the first Dallas
County urban hub for the
NTFB. This is called the Hub
and Spoke Program. The
goal for 2012 is expansion
to serve 80-100 sites (or
spokes).
As a revolutionary
in the hunger fight, Rev.
Cole speaks passionately
in food terminology that is
unfamiliar to many.
Crossroads Community
Services
stocks items
that are high in
nutrition. Often,
the foods that the
poor can afford
are those that are
heavy in empty
calories."Some people have
food insecurity; they have
experienced the physical and
emotional trauma of running
out of food and money
before they run out of month.
As a result, they tend to buy
large amounts of foods that
are inexpensive and usually
unhealthy. Some people
live in food deserts; these
are places where healthy
food cannot be readily or
affordably purchased," he
said.
"Also, people in need
tend to travel through what
I call the charity circuit
– going from pantry to
pantry at various churches
and outreach organizations
in order to gather enough
food. At CCS, we provide
enough food to last one
week. Traveling the circuit
trains them to be dependent
and spend too
much time
searching for
food. We help
break that
circuit here by
giving large
amounts of
food in one
stop. With the
NTFB, we
are rethinking
how to address hunger in
North Texas. At CCS, we
are nourishing people and
powering change."
First UMC Pastor John
Fiedler says CCS is an
important part of the church's
ministry.
"Through Crossroads
Community Services, we
have made it a missional
priority to be an integral part
of the safety net that keeps
Dallas men, women and
children from going hungry.
By providing substantial
amounts of nutritious food
and gently used clothing, we
also free up grocery money
to go for other necessities
like rent. In this way, we seek
to embody the love of Christ
in ministering to and with the
poor."
Clients shop for the foods they like rather than being handed pre-selected items.Jan Pruitt, president and
CEO of the North Texas
Food Bank, is also excited
about the partnership.
"Crossroads
Community Services has
partnered with the North
Texas Food Bank for many
years. Now, through Hub
& Spoke, the North Texas
Food Bank can ensure
that a generous, varied
and reliable supply of
healthy food is accessible
to feeding programs of all
types and sizes throughout
Dallas County.
"The ability to expand
service beyond our
member agencies to now
reach smaller groups like
Dallas Housing Authority
apartment communities,
smaller shelters and others
in the most food-insecure
areas of Dallas County is
exciting progress in the
fight against hunger," she
said.
"Even more exciting
is how the food bank
and United Methodist
congregations are working
together to open minds,
hearts and doors so
everyone has a place at the
table."
We have received many calls concerning memorial gifts in memory of our granddaughter. Hannah spoke often of wanting to be a veterinarian, and a scholarship/endowment fund is being established to benefit students studying veterinary medicine.
Juan brings a powerful testimony of the human costs of the drug war, militarism and gun trafficking, and is part of growing actions to forge a path to peace with justice and dignity in Mexico. The United States has played an important part in the escalating war for drug prohibition. Mexican activists like Juan are reaching out to people in the U.S. to support efforts for justice and help forge a different path.
Juan was detained for three months after seeking asylum in the wake of his mother's murder, and has since pressed for justice through vigils in front of the Mexican consulate, as well as participated in events seeking justice for all those victimized by the drug war and gun violence in Mexico. His story was featured on NBC's "Dateline", while Marisela's story was dramatized by Mexican actor Ely Guerra.
Juan will be joined by John Lindsay-Poland of the national interfaith peace group Fellowship of Reconciliation, who will speak about gun trafficking to Mexico, the drug war, and what we in the United States can do.
Elzie Odom, the first African-
American mayor of Arlington,
Texas, will sign copies of his new
book, Counting My Blessings, at
Dallas' 
Walking the labyrinth is an
ancient spiritual practice found
in many traditions around the
world. Within the Christian
tradition, it was sometimes seen
as a symbol of a pilgrimage.
For contemporary people,
the labyrinth offers a way of
meditative prayer, of centering,
of drawing nearer to God and to
a person’s own soul, of letting
go.
