November 20, 2023 newsletter

I have one thing that the ultra-rich will never have. Enough. 

~ Paraphrase of John Bogle by my husband, who quoted him wrong, but close enough!

Good morning friends! You might have noticed, but maybe not, that at Stone Soup Kitchen, we operate on an abundance model, not a scarcity one. Too many times in the history of SSK, I have seen things appear just as they were needed, as God moved in the heart of someone who didn't even know they were going to be the answer to prayer. Sometimes this happened even before I had a chance to think about it and pray! Your beliefs may differ, and I respect all of you, but it has been my experience that there is plenty for everyone, and I am happy to tell you all that we've been able to help a LOT of people so far during this difficult season.

In the spirit of plenty, let's talk about Thanksgiving! Over the past few weeks, we have received a lot of love and support from individuals and families in our community, and we are very grateful to each and every one of them. We also were blessed by some food drives and other collections:

Fresh cookies from the Cookie Brigade
Gift cards for turkeys from the Ayer Police Union
Food drive by Ayer Community School
Socks collection by the Congregational Church of Harvard
Encouragement cards by the Crafts Gathering
Work day with National Grid
Food deliveries from Community Harvest Project, Bake'N Joy, Boston Area Gleaners, Ayer Shop 'n Save, the Grateful Dog

I have one special story to tell you about individually. One of our guests had disappeared. I'm not sure how long it had been since we'd last seen her, but I want to say at least a year. She showed up on Saturday, and fortunately, she came when the rush was over so that we could talk for a few minutes. This is a person who has worked hard her whole life, but who had the bottom fall out during the early part of covid. I think it was hard for her to come to the pantry at first, like it is for many people. This time, however, she stopped by to drop off a donation and to say thank you for the help. She's back on her feet, living in a new place (fairly far away for a trip to come see us!) with a new job, a better one. I got a little bit teary talking with her.

This person is representative of the people that you help when you donate to us. And by the grace of God and the good-hearted response of all of you, we have never had to turn anyone away. I pray we never do. There is more than enough for all.

I'm not asking you for anything this week other than to spend time with your friends and family, and to enjoy Thanksgiving in whatever way is meaningful to you. I love you all and appreciate your generosity in helping us to keep people from slipping through the cracks. If you have already gone shopping for us, no worries...I will be at the pantry on Wednesday from 10 to noon. The crew will not be there, so if you have a large load, please plan for it to take a bit of time for just you and me to unload it! We will be having our regular dinner on Friday evening, and you are, of course, welcome to join us. The pantry will be open as usual on Saturday morning, and you can visit the pantry if you or a friend of yours needs food!

Love you, love you, love you! Have a wonderful week and Thanksgiving 💕

Image: Canva