Since I joined the staff in June of 2021, one of the pure joys I have experienced – I consider it a perk – is being able to occasionally walk over to the First Street Methodist Mission to volunteer on Thursdays. For anyone who has not done a tour or spent time at the Mission seeing their work, I strongly encourage you to do so if you are able. I have to admit even after being a member of First United Methodist Church since 2012, I had NO IDEA the breadth of services offered or the number of lives touched by the Mission.
During the height of the pandemic, the Mission had to pivot quickly to the changing needs of our neighbors. To ensure safety many services had to move outdoors, and the picture of people experiencing homelessness was also changing. Federal funding was providing more opportunities for housing and shelter, but job losses and rising costs led to a new group of people finding themselves in need of assistance. One of the areas most affected by the changes was grocery service. The Mission began a new process to serve a higher volume of people where guests could drive or walk up in the parking lot and receive a pre-packed set of groceries. On busier days well over 200 families received groceries.
What was a necessary step to meet the needs of the community later turned into a concern for the health and safety of the dedicated group of volunteers who serve every week. Volunteers were quickly packing groceries, standing out on the asphalt greeting and taking information from guests, or literally running a cart of groceries to cars. In the height of summer, it was especially hard, hot work! In recognition of the toll this could take and also in an effort to have a less transactional relationship with guests, Bernie Scheffler, Director of the Mission, and Jess Vaughn-Jansen, Assistant Director of the Mission, worked with their staff and the Mission Board to return to a “Choice” program which welcomes guests indoors into a climate-controlled environment where they are able to pick out their own groceries based on their needs and preferences. This new approach launched on Wednesday, May 10, and while it has only been up and running for a very short while, I think it’s already fair to say it has been a rousing success!
Earlier this month I had the privilege of joining other volunteers in this new approach. What I experienced truly filled my soul. There were smiling faces among the staff, volunteers, and guests. There was a spirit of collaboration and problem-solving as we tweaked things to make it smoother. And best of all, there was appreciation from guests for making changes that allowed them to make their own choices. Several shoppers stopped to tell me how much they enjoyed being able to pick things that they liked or that their families would enjoy.
“Serve” is one of our 6 spiritual practices in Healthy Plate Discipleship. And we are so lucky to have a multitude of opportunities inside our walls, down the street, well into the community, or even overseas! I hope everyone finds ways to serve in ways that strengthen their relationship with God.
The tagline of FUMCFW is to Love God, Serve People, and Transform Lives. We are able to live into all of these things at the Mission. And perhaps the lives of guests were transformed—I hope so—but I know that mine was.
~ Allison Alvarado
Executive Director
First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth
