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Functioning Team

Lead Summary
By
Kristi Franken, Adrian/Magnolia United Methodist Church

Things work well when a team of people know and can see the end result. The team I refer to is called community. It is a wonder before the eyes to watch an intergenerational event take place, and there is no division between the young and old … for they are a TEAM.
Many times during the course of the Kids Against Hunger packing event Sept. 29 and 30, I stood back and soaked in the dust of the grain, listened to the roar of the voices and watched hands busily measure out specific amounts of protein, soy, dried vegetables and rice to place into a package before it gets sent down the line of the team for further packing, weighing, sealing and placement on the pallets. It is estimated that a crew can pack ten boxes of food, with 36 packets of food each, within each hour. Some groups could meet this goal and some were slightly under, but through belief and faith, the food was packed because the community was a team.
When I refer to community, I speak of the school districts of Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek; churches from those communities were represented; businesses sent employees to pack; volunteers offered to be table leaders; individuals came and packed; the National Guard came; money was sent in via businesses and individuals; and on top of that, Quality Printing, Print Express and Pizza Ranch were on standby for those emergency situations. Media sources came and went and did stories, and the Luverne Chamber sent out mailing. There are many other sources and people whom I may not have mentioned. I say “Thank you” to all of you.
I took a team of 10 people to start planning this event in January. What was added this year was four students from the Luverne Student Council who worked with the team and provided their thoughts and ideas. When I had a few moments one day, I asked one of the members what they thought about this and she said, “I had no idea how much time and work something like this takes.” I smiled and said, “If you need some references on your resume, we will give you a glowing report.”
As a pastor, I felt privileged to be in the presence of a great cloud of witnesses who were willing to help provide meals to starving people. When 3 p.m. approached on Friday, it was evident the closing was coming and before long the gym would be cleaned out of people and the cleanup would begin. Five boxes needed to be packed yet, so I worked with a team of several people and Father Jennings from St. Catherine Catholic Church. When I shouted out only one more bag and we will fill our box, he took the last bag, sealed it with the sealing machine, and held it high and sealed the bag with a “clergical kiss.” This action spoke louder than any other action.
This community is blessed and I wanted to take this opportunity to say this: “God is good all the time and all the time God is good!” Thank you to everyone for functioning as a team with packing, financing and providing services for the cause of Kid’s Against Hunger.

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