Feed The Farmers Shares Spirit Of Thanks During Harvest Season
October 18, 2018 at 5:01 p.m.
Feed The Farmers Shares Spirit Of Thanks During Harvest Season
By Deb McAuliffe Sprong-
Might not sound like much, but dozens of Kosciusko County farmers are grateful for this small bounty during their busy harvest season.
Clunette and Atwood Aldersgate United Methodist churches are partnering Saturday for annual Feed The Farmers mission. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., sack lunches will be available to farmers working the fields.
“When they first started doing it they were very surprised,” said Lorraine Anglin, who works at Clunette Elevator and is a member of Clunette UMC.
The mission is in its fourth year at Clunette Elevator, but this year will see the addition of Creighton Brothers grain elevator as a site where farmers can pick up a lunch.
The lunches are handed out as harvest truckers pause to weigh their loads on elevator scales, said Mike Beezley, pastor of Clunette UMC. Lunches also are given out to take back to workers in the fields, Anglin said.
“They really enjoy it,” she said.
The program coordinators are Diana Bowers at Clunette UMC and Melissa Robinson at Atwood Aldersgate. They are responsible for planning the mission and coordinating the many donations and workers that make it all happen.
“We have probably close to two dozen people at each church who come together and shop for/donate items we need for the lunches,” said Beezley, adding that others give money toward the costs.
Each of the 100-plus lunches contains a ham and cheese sandwich, condiment packets, a piece of fruit, a cookie and a bottle of water — “all things that don’t require utensils, as they will be eaten on the road or back at the fields where the harvesting is happening,” he said.
The younger generations do their part to make the day special. “Our youth group and Sunday school kids decorate the lunch bags with messages of thanksgiving and love,” Beezley said. “The truckers really seem to enjoy that, too.”
Past years have seen church members gather at the elevator to pray over the lunches and sing praise songs and hymns.
That spirit seems to reflect what the day is all about.
“The effort is in order to give thanks to God for this year's harvest, and for all the farmers who have worked long hours to bring in the harvest that feeds us all,” Beezley said.
Might not sound like much, but dozens of Kosciusko County farmers are grateful for this small bounty during their busy harvest season.
Clunette and Atwood Aldersgate United Methodist churches are partnering Saturday for annual Feed The Farmers mission. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., sack lunches will be available to farmers working the fields.
“When they first started doing it they were very surprised,” said Lorraine Anglin, who works at Clunette Elevator and is a member of Clunette UMC.
The mission is in its fourth year at Clunette Elevator, but this year will see the addition of Creighton Brothers grain elevator as a site where farmers can pick up a lunch.
The lunches are handed out as harvest truckers pause to weigh their loads on elevator scales, said Mike Beezley, pastor of Clunette UMC. Lunches also are given out to take back to workers in the fields, Anglin said.
“They really enjoy it,” she said.
The program coordinators are Diana Bowers at Clunette UMC and Melissa Robinson at Atwood Aldersgate. They are responsible for planning the mission and coordinating the many donations and workers that make it all happen.
“We have probably close to two dozen people at each church who come together and shop for/donate items we need for the lunches,” said Beezley, adding that others give money toward the costs.
Each of the 100-plus lunches contains a ham and cheese sandwich, condiment packets, a piece of fruit, a cookie and a bottle of water — “all things that don’t require utensils, as they will be eaten on the road or back at the fields where the harvesting is happening,” he said.
The younger generations do their part to make the day special. “Our youth group and Sunday school kids decorate the lunch bags with messages of thanksgiving and love,” Beezley said. “The truckers really seem to enjoy that, too.”
Past years have seen church members gather at the elevator to pray over the lunches and sing praise songs and hymns.
That spirit seems to reflect what the day is all about.
“The effort is in order to give thanks to God for this year's harvest, and for all the farmers who have worked long hours to bring in the harvest that feeds us all,” Beezley said.
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