With our communities and world in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, our daily lives have looked quite different. With the shelter in place orders from the governor, we are safer in our homes and take precautions to keep those we love safe. Meeting together for worship and fellowship with those we love is not a current possibility. Church looks different, as do our social lives. This past Sunday, before meeting via Zoom with my Young Married Community Group, we watched “The Art of Neighboring” on the RightNow Media app. Taught by Dave Runyon and Jay Pathak, it explores the question of who are our neighbors. How do we get to know our neighbors? How do we set aside time to stop and love those around us?

During this time of a global pandemic, it is almost impossible to physically get out and sit down with our neighbors. The art of neighboring looks different during this time. How can we get to know others or help those around us when we have to keep a social distance? But let me tell you – I have seen a coming together in our community like I have never seen before. Online, through Facebook groups or Zoom meetings, people are connecting and reaching out to each other. The group “Starkville Strong” is a coming together of people helping each other and supporting our local businesses. The “Starkville SEW Strong” group is a large group of ladies (and a few men) who are sewing masks for our local healthcare workers. Several other similar groups have been created. In my own neighborhood, people are walking more and slowing down. We are having painted rock hunts and stuffed bear hunts for children. We are coming together and getting to know people we may have never known before, even though we cannot physically be close to them. Necessity is the mother of invention, and nothing brings that about like a global crisis.

One of our church members has gone a step further to bless our community during this time. We all know what a wonderful chef Vicki Leach is! We as a church body have enjoyed her delicious cooking during Sunday night special studies or on Wednesdays for Lunch Break. As a talented chef and home cook for her family, she decided to use the gifts God has given her to reach out to those in need during this time.

When the shutdown orders came the week right after spring break, Vicki knew that there would be no Lunch Break meeting for at least a few weeks. She also knew how important that time is for many of the senior adults in our community. It is not only a time of fellowship but a time to stay connected with the shut-ins and elderly in our church. Not being able to meet, Vicki thought of these people and wanted to make sure they were staying connected and not forgotten. She contacted Clifton Curtis and got a list of eight people. Since she was cooking for her own family, she decided to box up warm meals for each of them and hand-deliver them to their homes (while maintaining a safe distance, of course). Using what she has in her well-stocked pantry, Vicki cooks, her husband Rob helps clean up, and a faithful crew (Cameron and Blaire Johnston, her daughter Veronica, and Kyle Hickey) helps her box up and deliver meals to those in need.

Blaire Johnston says that she and her husband, Cameron, got involved when Veronica asked if they would help deliver and cook meals. When Vicki’s mother passed away the week after spring break, she and Cameron took over the cooking and delivering of food while Vickie was away to spend time with family and take care of affairs in Atlanta.

Blaire says: "This has been a particular blessing to me. As a children’s ministry director, I don’t usually get to know and spend time with people who are not in the children’s department. This has been an amazing opportunity for us to get to know more people as well as hear their life stories and wisdom (all while keeping to social distancing guidelines). I am blessed to have Cameron during this time, but some of the people we deliver meals to have no one. I try to put myself in their shoes and imagine what it is like. This has been such a joyful time for us to be able to contribute a small portion of our evenings to love on the body of Christ. I would like to give a huge thank you to Mrs. Vicki for using the beautiful gift that God gave her to love and bless others!"

For Kyle Hickey, a relative newcomer to Starkville, this ministry opportunity has opened doors for him to make new relationships.

He says: "When the Leaches told me they were providing food to some of the senior adults in our church, I instantly wanted to help. Even though a lot of people know and see me on stage every Sunday, I still don’t know the vast majority of the congregation. So in addition to meeting a need within our church body, it has also given me an opportunity to connect with fellow believers – some of which I would never have gotten to know otherwise because they are shut-ins. The amount of gratitude they express for a meal and a short conversation upon delivery has really made this all worth it. The older generations have a lot to teach us about our faith and how to practice it in spirit and truth. I know I’ve learned a lot in my interactions with them, and I hope that others in our church can glean wisdom from them as well."

This ministry opportunity that Vicki reached out and grabbed has turned into more than just simply delivering meals to shut-ins. For Easter, many of us were separated from family and usual celebrations. So, Vicki coordinated with Clifton and the deacons to prepare and deliver meals to 75 people in our community. On Easter Sunday, we celebrate our savior Jesus rising from the dead so that we may have life more abundantly. That abundant life manifests itself in a life lived by serving others. This service that Vicki and her crew have been giving to others was not something she felt obligated to do. She saw a need and decided to act.

Vicki says: "Reach out to those around you. If they say they don’t need anything, still go ahead and do something for them. It can be as simple as baking them a few cookies. It can be a warm, home-cooked meal. It can simply be calling them to see if they need anything from the grocery store. We not only feed them physically, but we are also feeding their souls. We all need to believe that we belong to a body of believers. We are simply being the face and hands of the church. It is often the little things that mean a lot."

So, while God has called Vicki and her crew to serve food every evening to these neighbors, God may be calling you to do something different. Cooking may not be something you are gifted at. You may be a handyman or a great encourager. There are so many ways we can love our neighbors during this time. Offer to blow leaves out of the gutters of a neighbor. Write an encouraging letter to the single mother down the street. Smile and say “Thank you” to the cashier at the grocery store. Make masks for the healthcare workers on the front lines of this virus. How we live out the art of neighboring during this time will look different for each of us.

In Luke 10:29 Jesus was asked by the teachers of the law, “Who is my neighbor?” he responded by telling the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus then asked them which of the three was an example of a neighbor to the injured man. The man who showed him mercy was.

How can we show mercy to and be an example of a neighbor to those around us during this time? We are not able to invite people to sit around our tables, but we can take them food. We may not be able to invite a friend to grab coffee, but we can send a text or set up a video chat to check in and encourage them. Neighboring may look different in the time of COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be neighbors. Look around you for ways you can be a neighbor in your community and answer the call of God to go forth. Be His hands and feet during this time.

If you are interested in helping Vicki or if you know of someone who is in need of a meal, contact her at 662-312-3554. If you are interested in serving meals to shut-ins on your own, contact Clifton at the church for names and contact info – ccurtis@fbcstarkville.com.