This past week twelve Winchester Friends drove an hour north of Winchester to help a Mennonite Church can 13,400 pounds of turkey meat to feed hungry people overseas. It was a wonderful day, full of fellowship and purpose.

And I learned some important lessons.

Service is catching. This was the second year a group participated in this project and it was fun to take more people this year than last year. Many actually took the day off from work to participate. I sense a growing concern in our meeting for the needs in our world. Hands on service in a project like this gave us an opportunity to actually “do” something to meet those needs.

Service knows no denominations. We didn’t choose this project because Quakers would benefit, we choose this project because it was one way to feed hungry people. When we served in Uganda under the Mennonite Central Committee there was no Mennonite Church there. MCC gave us the mandate to work across denominations to build peace, to provide relief to anyone who needed help, and to help all churches in their mission to be the hands of Christ in a hurting world. I appreciated being able to work with Catholics, Anglicans, Quakers, Baptists, Mennonites and others. But I must admit, it was a bonus to discover that 77,000 cans of the turkey and beef we helped MCC can last year made its way to Burundi (where there is no Mennonite Church) to help Friends and others in their relief and peace work there.

Meat is a luxury. After working with 13,400 pounds of raw turkey meat, you lose your appetite for meat. Even the cooked meat wasn’t that appealing. But it was because we were well fed and we had a superb lunch provided by the church for the hundred volunteer workers. I realized the reason we were able to use turkey thighs in this canning project was our culture has the option of choosing only turkey breasts for their protein, leaving darker meat available at a more reasonable price for humanitarian relief. It is a luxury to be able to choose only the very best in a world where many have access to very little protein. I will never forget my friend Ali, a Muslim Ugandan who always made it a point to buy meat on a holiday so that his six children “would not forget what meat tastes like”. To be honest, I doubt there are very many people in the US who are in danger of forgetting what meat tastes like. These 2 pound cans of turkey chunks provide much needed protein for so many in our world and while we didn’t find it all that appealing, it is food that gives life. I was reminded once again how precious meat is in our world.

Listening is learning. I spent most of the day scrubbing in scalding hot water the outside of some of the 3,000 cans that needed cleaned once they were taken from the canner. Being verbally challenged as I am, I had trouble talking and washing cans at the same time. So I spent much of my day listening to those on the line who dried and pasted labels on the cans of cooked turkey. I came away blessed hearing Friends talk with others from different faith communities. I was surprised at how many had connections through mutual acquaintances or relatives. I was surprised to hear sharing of what our faith community is involved in and how we raise money for missions and relief. I heard Friends laugh together. I heard a sense of purpose and vision in this act of service. I took some time out during the day to capture the work on camera and video. As I watched the video of the day and looked at the photos, I was overcome with a sense of thankfulness for those from our faith community who participated. They are such good people who love life and love giving and as I listened to their laughter and their words, I learned acts of service reveal a deep and visible love for God and for God’s people.

Heritage nurtures service. I was able to spend a bit of time visiting with a Mennonite man about my age who took time away from his car dealership to work on the canner for the day. I asked him how many churches sent volunteers and raised money for this project. He explained three churches joined together for the project and their names were on the cans, but only two participated fully. He went on to say an “evangelical” branch of the Mennonite church did not feel their connection to their heritage was important and they participated less and less with other Mennonites in service projects, but the organizers kept their name on the cans anyway. As I sat there listening to him tell me about how they did not see value in being called Mennonite and found it more important to be “evangelical” I couldn’t help but notice the words “In the name of Christ” displayed on every can that passed by and placed in boxes that read “Food for Relief.” It did not add up. Service is a part of the DNA of Mennonites. Many still remember relatives who were delivered from starvation in Russia and the Ukraine by relief food. Mennonites may not agree on every matter of theology or worship style, but most agree that “In the name of Christ” starving people need to be fed. In my world view, that is being evangelical. Often Quakers fight the same battles. Being Mennonite or Quaker is not the issue. Understanding how the DNA of our heritage motivates our actions for today is the issue. And what really matters is that we do service “in the name of Christ.”

I believe in service. Not because service grants me salvation, but because service reflects who I am as a child of God. It reflects my DNA, my heritage, and my faith. Service arises out of a deep and profound sense of worship for God and a love for the world God created. My day talking turkey blessed me in many ways: I was blessed by my faith community, I was blessed by working with others from another faith community, I was humbled by the abundance of food in my life, and I was blessed that the work of my hands carried the words “In the Name of Christ.” All in all, it was an incredibly good day.