All Are Welcome

St. Margaret has certainly seen its share of disasters. In a recent sermon, Fr. Jamin retells the beautiful story of our Church in action. In the aftermath of the 2016 flood, our community realized a humanitarian crisis was brewing on I-12.  People were literally stuck on the interstate for more than 48 hours with no place to go or facilities to use.  He opened up our Parish Hall and gave people food and water (and allowed them to use the bathrooms!)  One gentlemen from Florida was among the thousands stuck on the interstate that day who was a recipient of St. Margaret’s kindness.  After Hurricane Ida, the gentleman was watching on television the destruction that had affected our area.  He knew “that little white church by the interstate would once again be doing something to help their neighbors,” so he sprung to action.  During a meal in Ida’s aftermath, Fr. Paul approached Fr. Jamin to let him know a special visitor was on the property that Fr. Jamin would likely want to visit.  When Fr. Jamin arrived at the Hall, this same man from Florida had packed his car to the brim with supplies and drove over eight hours to reciprocate the generosity once shown him in 2016!

David Drude, our Thomas’ Table ministry chair agrees that “We have done a wonderful job in the past in response to community needs but it takes us several weeks to ramp up our capacity to reach out when we have a disaster.” His idea is to “streamline that process by providing monthly meals after the various services, providing us practice in preparing food and team building.”  

In our Thomas’ Table Ministry, there is no charge for the meals served at St. Margaret or at St. Thomas.  However, donations are accepted for the disaster relief fund. “It gives the community the opportunity to donate funds for the purpose of buying equipment and supplies that can be used during an emergency.”

Join them to help out or just to eat!  “All are welcome at His table!”