The Kinship

The Kinship, our mobile outreach, is about connecting groups of people from different backgrounds to remember we are all kin. We call ourselves the Kinship to remind ourselves and others that though we are serving, there is reciprocity in the giving and receiving that happens at our events. Because this is our goal, we are very excited that after months of planning and practicing, we now have two volunteer teams at different locations sharing food each month! In April we reconnected with our friends from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, and began a monthly Kinship at The Good Samaritan Inn. Tina is the lead of their team, and we are so thankful for all the work she has put into coordinating and spreading word about the Kinship. They have been faithful and gone above and beyond by making care packages for a few folks that cannot make it to the market with whatever groceries are leftover. It has been such a gift to work with these team members again; they have not only been helpful with offering hands to help, but also with taking initiative and building relationships with the residents at The Good Sam.

Another fruit of the Kinship is Vanessa, who came to volunteer once at the Good Sam and decided to take initiative by committing to regularly clean the bathrooms of the Good Sam (there’s about 11). Since April, she’s gone approximately every other week to love the residents by scrubbing sinks and toilets.

This coming Saturday, July 1st, we will be partnering with University Community Ministries to operate the Kinship in the Sulphur Springs area. Our brothers from the Timothy Initiative will be volunteering with us monthly to make that happen, and we are elated to work with them!

We are very excited about these partnerships and the opportunity to love our neighbors. This quarter we have given away 1,459 pounds of food to 125 individuals. We share this number as something to be proud of, but please remember each of those numbers represents a person we are honored to know, serve, and enter into kinship with. While our volunteers are happy to sort through cereal, condiments, and assist people while shopping, it’s the relationships that begin at these outreaches that are the true fruit. In Kinship, we are made whole and we know we belong. It’s this care for and belonging that we are overjoyed to see spread. We look forward to expanding The Kinship to more places with more people. If you are interested in hosting the Kinship for your neighbors, volunteering with us, or having us bring food to your neck of the woods, please feel free to contact us!