The food pantry at Living Waters is located in a remote part of Cherokee, NC. The worshipping community and pastor’s office are located on the upper floor of the building. The space offers warm hospitality on Sunday mornings as well as space for community and congregational meetings. The cultural identity of the Cherokee people is expressed by the artwork on the walls. The food pantry located on the bottom floor, is a treasure trove of food and household goods organized on the floor to ceiling shelves.

This past year I worked at the pantry on one of the distribution days. Volunteers provide a warm welcome as bags and boxes were filled with items to serve the people who show up. The folks that show up for food, have to navigate the narrow and often congested driveway to the pantry. You have to make an effort to have your needs met. The pantry is much more than nourishment of the body, this ministry sustains the spirit of both volunteers and participants with expressions of love, grace, and mercy in an area that is economically depressed.

When the distribution was over for the day, the shelves were empty, the muscles of the volunteers were tired, but the heart were full of the connections made while helping others. This ministry like the other supported by the Mission Fund are vital signs that God is working in new ways.

NC Synod of ELCA/Mission Fund is a faithful partner of The Bolick Foundation