3 minute read
Shining the Light of Christ Outreach — Feeding the Hungry in our Community
Each of us is called to mālama one another and to see the face of Jesus in the faces of those in need of our kōkua. For the past couple years, parishioner Thelma Bacxa and her family have been feeding the hungry in our own community through the simple “street outreach” of Shining the Light of Christ.
“My husband and I started bringing my girls out when they were about 8 or 9 years old,” Thelma says. “After Mass, we went out to the front of Ali’i Drive, and started giving out little snacks to the people there. One time, one of the young women on the street asked for a sandwich, and I thought, ‘OK, we need to fulfill that need here.’”
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Every Sunday after the 9 a.m. Mass, Thelma joins a small group of parish individuals and families to bring sandwiches to the people on the street outside the parish. Children are welcome to come, and Thelma takes families with children out in groups of two families at a time. Parishioners are asked to bring a loaf of bread’s worth of individually-wrapped sandwiches, such as tuna salad, peanut butter and jelly, or egg salad — Thelma also provides small bottles of water and bags of chips. The group then goes on a walk to give out the food items.
“We serve about 10 to 20 people at a time,” Thelma says. “Before we go out, I go over safety guidelines, what you should and shouldn’t do, and make sure everyone is dressed appropriately. We say a little prayer, and then we journey out. For safety reasons, I go to approach people first and then tell the parishioners to come and follow. It’s a great way to evangelize, and a lot of fun, and everyone is very grateful. They often say, ‘We look for you!’
“After we’re done, we come back to the church and we reflect,” she adds. “The ministry touches people in different ways. It’s also a way of showing and appreciating everything we have been given from God — all our gifts are gifts from God, so we need to give back to others who are less fortunate.”
Before holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, the ministry does some special street outreach. Two days before the planned day, Thelma hands out flyers and encourages their “regulars” to spread the word.
“Last Thanksgiving, we served about 45 individuals — there were people there who I had never seen before!” Thelma says. “We had a simple meal, fresh-baked cookies, and we even had a women’s group provide female necessities in bags.”
Thelma has seen firsthand how this ministry encourages parishioners to open their hearts to those in need.
“This is part of what I do for my work every day, and I wanted to pass that along to other people who also want to experience that,” Thelma says. “This ministry has caused other ministries in the church to want to get involved, so I’ve been taking people out in phases.
“It’s also a really great way for the young people to get involved, as well,” she adds. “When I was a youth minister, I took the kids out on the street to evangelize. After they all went to college, I’d hear about all the things they had been inspired to do. One of them started studying human services, and others will go to McDonald’s and buy an extra meal so that when they see someone who needs it, they can give it to them. Ministries like this really make them want to do more. We haven’t been able to go out recently due to COVID, but I can’t wait until we are able to start up again.”
