Be the Light!

Our community, our state, and our country are dealing with some very challenging times. We are finding ourselves at a loss for words. We wake up each day and barely wish to look at a newspaper, watch the news or listen to the radio for fear of what we will learn. We look for hope, we look for light, and we look for places where we feel welcome into community. I often turn to music as a way to calm my hurting soul, to quiet my mind and to find a place of healing. I sing in times of joy and sorrow, when I am happy and when I am sad. Of course I do not like to sing for others, only by myself or in a group when nobody can really hear what I sound like. But I do like to sing. A song I have found myself singing, or humming, lately is "Bridge over Troubled Waters' by Simon and Garfunkel. One line says, "When you're weary, Feeling small, When tears are in your eyes I'll dry them all...". I do not know about you but I have had a lot of tears in my eyes, I have had a lump in my throat, I have had terrible heartache. I am sad for what I see and hear. I feel so helpless, I feel so afraid for my immigrant neighbors, my community, and the guests we serve each week. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. So I sing (or hum), just sayin'...

Open Hands Midway is a place of hope, light and community. ALL ARE WELCOME HERE! This place has been serving our neighbors in need since 2009. Each year we renew the call to make sure the basic life necessity of food is available for FREE to ALL! Hunger is invisible, the guests we serve are not. Yes, we welcome EVERYONE through our doors in the spirit of compassion by providing a space where nobody is judged but all are welcome and cared about. We greet our guests with a smile, by name when we get to know them, and they in turn share that they are grateful for us being here for them. In 2025, we provided 19,325 meals; distributed 89,309 pounds of food through our meal program, food shelf program and produce distribution program. Our food shelf service increased by 41% over the previous year serving 590 first time visitors! Our meal program saw 1,524 first time visitors. These are not just numbers, these are people, people that matter to us, just sayin'...

Volunteers are essential in providing the programs we provide. In 2025, our faithful volunteers gave 4,406 hours of their time. They help prepare, serve, and clean up after meals. They host our food shelf program, they pick up food rescue from Kowalski's Market on Grand Avenue twice weekly, and they unload pallets of fresh produce every fall for our mini farmers market. We could not do what we do without their dedication. I have the pleasure of knowing each one of these beautiful people. I have shared this blessing with them on many occasion but I think it is worth everyone knowing. This blessing was first shared with me by my friend, Rev. Kirsten Fryer. Read these words slowly and let them sink in:

Is it not only what you do, but how you connect

and love that can transform a task into a gift from God.

God bless you for showing up and the details of your doing.

God bless your willingness to fail and learn from the process.

God bless your humility and humor in the heart of what you do best.

God bless your duty and joy for this community and impact.

God bless your candor about what really matters to you.

God bless your flexibility about the details and outcomes alike.

God bless your observations about who else might be invited to help.

God bless your stepping back so another can participate more fully.

God bless your openness to a process of becoming together.

For these are gifts of God, and so are you!

Our programs are dependent on volunteers. If you, or someone you know, is interested in becoming a volunteer at Open Hands Midway I invite you to go to https://www.openhandsmidway.org/volunteering to learn more. We can always use more help. Check it out, what have you got to lose, just sayin'...

It is my hope that we will continue to be a place of welcoming invitation for our neighbors. It is my hope that we will be a place that cares about our community. It is my hope that everyone, our Board of Directors, our staff, our volunteers and our guests truly feel welcome, respected, cared about, loved and valued for who they are and the gifts they share, just sayin'...