Love thy neighbor
Payday can seem like the best day of the month. Your wallet is fat, your stomach is full and toiletries are replenished.
The end of the month can be a different story.
Every third Saturday of the month, families who find their paychecks stretching thin can find assistance from a ministry outreach program called Beans and Rice at St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church in Chelsea.
Church volunteers, led by outreach chair Bill Wheeler, give out packages of 3-pound bags of rice and 2-pound bags of pinto beans along with other items like canned goods, toilet paper and toothpaste.
“The concept is [that] this is not a hot meal and this is not a handout, this is just a little bit of a hand up as we reach the end of the month when the checkbook gets a little lean,” Wheeler said. “Our bishop is very clear about what we are all about — this is not for needy folks. This is just to help people so they can get about sharing the gifts they have to share.”
From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., St. Catherine’s opens its doors to anyone, around Chelsea or farther out, who needs a helping hand. They place a sign out front inviting people in, and word-of-mouth does the rest.
“This is just one of our ministries, but the focus is not about us. It is about helping our neighbor in need, kind of following Jesus,” Wheeler said. “We don’t ask any questions, but we have gotten to know the fold that come every month.”
St. Catherine’s isn’t the only Episcopal parish in the state partaking in Beans and Rice. About 29 others are reaching out to their communities, as well.
Volunteers go into the church the Friday before and sort all the 50-pound bags of pinto beans and rice into smaller bags, and they package donated items out for the families who attend.
“The picture you see on TV of people who are hurting isn’t a fair picture, and our bishop taught me that you help them for the gifts they have to give,” Wheeler said. “I have learned that these folks have wonderful gifts.”
Wheeler said one family came in to get beans and rice, and the mother asked him how she could repay him. He insisted she take it as a gift to help get her to the end of the month, but instead she and her children cleaned the entire church for them.
“There is a story with everyone we help, and it is not just that they need a little food,” Wheeler said. “When you know these families this well, you really want to do something meaningful.”
The local Publix in Chelsea also plays a role in the ministry’s outreach by donating their day-old, unused bread every Sunday. It gives enough bread to St. Catherine’s to fill a 24-cubic-foot freezer every Sunday.
Along with Beans and Rice and the Publix donations, St. Catherine’s stays busy in the community by donating linens to King’s Home (which serves at-risk women and children), visiting Hidden Acres Assisted Living every month to celebrate birthdays and by volunteering to help with catastrophe relief.
Everything St. Catherine’s has to give comes from donations and volunteers.
“One of the things I learned, maybe painfully, was that churches that are all about what is going on inside the walls don’t grow,” Wheeler said. “Churches that are truly about opening their doors, sharing the message and being open to the community are the ones that are growing.”
For more information about the outreach ministry, call Bill Wheeler at 248-821-1327, or visit stcatherinesal.com. St. Catherine’s is located at 4163 County Road 39, Chelsea.