The Lincoln Journal Star recently ran an article on the plans for Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach to move to a new location.
Link: Nonprofit projects get planners’ approval

I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make tonight’s meal a success!  Although the preparation of the frybread was yet another adventure, the meal was very well received and ran very smoothly.  I can’t say enough how wonderful it is to work with all of you to serve our neighbors at Matt Talbot.  There were many fun moments tonight, from the American Indian gentlemen who jovially poked some fun at our frybread, to the sweetheart in the high chair with ice cream running down her chin, to the opportunity to learn some sign language from the four hearing impaired guests who shared the meal with us – I cherish so much about this experience.  Thank you for making it possible!

Switching gears a bit, I have been in touch with Pastor William Barth of Nebraska Prison Ministries (NPM).  After a brief introduction about our group and our interests in serving others, I inquired how A Place at the Table might be of service to the imprisoned, indicating that we might be particularly interested in volunteering in some way at the women’s prison in York (including an idea about a prison garden to feed the homeless), since it is in our local area.  He is willing to explore the possibility of facilitating such a partnership and has offered to meet with us as a group to discuss NPM, and particularly a new reentry/aftercare program that gaining some momentum in Nebraska.  He indicated that he would also like us to get in touch with a Ms. Lauri Westfall from Grand Island who is our local Operations Chief for this program in central Nebraska.

Finding a way to serve the imprisoned seems like a natural growth of our mission and I would very much like to invite Pastor Barth to meet with our group.  I would like to find a time and place where many of us could commit to be present to explore this with him.  If this interests you, please let me know so that I can gauge interest in this mission before I commit to a meeting.  I understand that “going inside” might be uncomfortable or even frightening to some, and I want to be sensitive to that.  But I also know that I feel driven to seek out those on the margins of society and I personally am willing to stretch past the unease I will undoubtedly feel.  I hope some of you will be as well.

Lastly, the last couple of days have been historic for any number of reasons.  Yesterday, Dr. Martin Luther King would have turned 80 years old, and today marked a new era in American politics.  I am reminded of a rather famous quote by King that continues to inspire me, and I’d like to share it with you:

 “Anyone can be great because everyone can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve… You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”

I believe we can create opportunities not only for we ourselves to serve, but we can facilitate those same opportunities for others to serve those less fortunate than themselves, and in doing so we might all find a bit more wholeness within ourselves.  Please let me know if you’d like to join me in meeting with Pastor Barth.

Namasté.

If you’ve visited the website in the past, you’ll notice that things are a bit different here – most notably that the group previously known as ‘Servants at Heart’ is now A Place at the Table! 

Drawing upon the momentum of the past few months, we’ve decided to incorporate and seek 501(c)3 tax exempt status from the IRS.  Doing so will strengthen the foundation we’ve built, allow donors to deduct their contributions, and position us to expand our mission by increasing our fundraising effectiveness!

Our mission and vision remain unchanged, however…we are still committed to humbly serving the homeless, the working poor, the sick, lonely, and imprisoned.  We seek to see Jesus in the faces we find at the margins of society, and acknowledge His presence in them with unconditional love.

The year 2009 is full of hope and promise – I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you.  May we make new friends, grow some veggies, trade lots of smiles, fill many stomachs, and plant the seeds of peace, hope, and joy wherever we go in the months to come! 

Many thanks to Pat Sullivan for his very hard and valuable work in preparing the many and various documents needed to incorporate and seek 501(c)3 status!

Servants at Heart shared its first meal with the patrons and staff of Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach in Lincoln this evening.  I want to say a very sincere and heartfelt “thank you” to all of you who worked so hard to make this night a success.  From planning the meal, to purchasing supplies, to preparing and serving – it took many hands and hearts to bring this meal to fruition…I feel very privileged to serve with each of you.  Well done!

 Of course, the last few days have been very busy with last minute preparations, and so the ride home this evening was perhaps the first opportunity I’d had to reflect a bit on my own experience in this effort.   Though many images will be recalled in the coming days, the lingering feeling I recognize from this evening is that of being nourished – physically, emotionally, spiritually.  In this simple act of preparing and sharing a meal with the patrons of MTKO, I glimpsed a profound sense of our collective humanity – the feeling of a few steps of a long journey shared with other sojourners on the path, and already the tug of wanting to do it all again.  As I sit in my warm home with my family sleeping upstairs, I wonder about our neighbors in Lincoln tonight – about how life unfolds for them after our paths diverged earlier this evening. 

 For me at least, this is about much more than food, though I don’t wish to minimize the importance of hunger relief.  I am honored and grateful to have this opportunity to serve others, to help make their journey through life a bit easier, if only for one night a month.  The smiles and conversations shared, the new friends made, and old ones renewed, will last much longer than the meal. 

 Perhaps, through our actions tonight, the Holy Spirit planted a seed or two of the transcendent – that may someday bloom into something wonderful for someone we encountered this evening. 

 Time will tell.   

 And if, by chance, we entertained angels unawares tonight – I can only hope that our small, but determined effort, found favor in their eyes.

 Jason

Nebraskans know how to get things done.

This September, national Hunger Action Month, columns in the “Local View” have illustrated the impressive ways that Nebraskans respond to the needs of our friends and neighbors: The folks at Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach continue to serve people in an extraordinarily warm and dignified manner, the Food Bank of Lincoln is meeting the challenge of growing demand, and Nebraska members of the Army National Guard stepped up to the task of delivering food and water to hurricane victims. September even marks the beginning of harvest time, when those involved in our state’s massive agriculture industry pull in a crop that helps to feed the nation.

Read more on the Lincoln Journal-Star’s Web site.

Our menu for the October 21st meal at Matt Talbot Kitchen has been finalized!  In order to make the best use of some very generous donations of ground beef and apples, we have decided to serve a  baked potato loaded with hearty chili, shredded cheese, and sour cream; green beans; assorted muffins; and warm homemade apple crisp with whipped topping.

There is still time to volunteer to help with the October 21st meal.  If you would like to help prepare or serve, we would love to have you!

Our core group appears to be well-established after our last meeting, and we are beginning to see the fruits of our efforts.  Donations of potatoes and apples have been arranged, which should support the October meal and perhaps a subsequent meal or two. 

We are working on developing a Servants at Heart shirt to be worn during our serving times at the Kitchen, and much discussion centered around its design and procurement.  It was suggested that we also purchase some aprons with the Servants at Heart logo which could be worn by others who participate from time to time. 

Leah generously offered to donate ground beef toward a meal at the Kitchen and some discussion followed about what type of menu we could create around ground beef.  We have committed to finalize the menu at our next meeting on September 22nd so that we can begin to purchase any needed ingredients for the October meal.

A short discussion was held on the community garden plan and our contact with the Midwest Covenant Home director.  More to come on that in future postings!

In faith and hope,

Jason

Susanne Blue, the Executive Director of the Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach, wrote a column appearing in the Sept. 5 issue of the Lincoln Journal Star. It begins:

The last few months have been extraordinarily busy at the Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach. Meals and outreach services are up from last year, and I know other agencies are experiencing this as well.

September is deemed Hunger Action Month. It is also the month we celebrate Labor Day, a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country. Currently, however, economic conditions are challenging us all. The workers I meet at Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach are struggling.

Read MORE.

Hi all,

I am pleased to inform you that our newly formed group, Servants at Heart, now has a small corner of cyberspace to call home! My friend and fellow Servant, David Frye, has agreed to host us on his business site, and did the vast majority of the legwork to get things up and running.

You can find us at www.widesky.biz/servantsatheart ; add us to your Favorites if you wish…

We are gaining momentum day by day, in preparation for our 1st meal to be served at Matt Talbot Kitchen and Outreach in Lincoln on October 21st!

From this point forward, the website will serve as our primary “hub” of communication; the place where I will post the recap of our group meetings, news events involving the Kitchen, and other information needed to keep us moving toward our many and varied goals.

I want to thank the “core group” of Servants at Heart for all of the support, dedication, and enthusiasm you have shown in getting us off the ground. Your answer to the call, and your commitment to help feed the homeless and working poor is deeply and humbly appreciated. I am blessed and privileged to work side by side with each of you.

For others that have continued to receive my unsolicited emails, I would only ask that you keep Servants at Heart in your prayers as we move forward in our mission. We are grateful for your support! Please know that you are also welcome to join us at any time…many hands make light work.

God’s peace to each of you,
Jason