“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT)
The Gleaners plant near Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, is the home of a highly efficient non-profit operation. Surplus and unsaleable produce and shipments of lentils, peas, or barley are combined in dehydrated form to produce a nourishing soup mix to feed hungry people in the world. The Gleaners were on track for their goal for 2025– and produced over 16 million servings of soup that year.
Transforming produce into soup mix is a complex undertaking, but every member of the production team works together to make it a success. A manager oversees the whole operation, and is the liaison between the farmer or other suppliers, and the Gleaners plant. He receives donations of produce, and keeps in touch with the workers by informing them what is ready to be worked on that week. A pool of local volunteers comes in on a regular basis to cut into chunks whatever has been received. Sometimes during the summer whole families volunteer together, camping in tents or RVs right on-site.
The vegetable chunks are fed through a dicer, and then spread out on metal trays, about ten high, on trolleys, to be dehydrated overnight. The next morning a team arrives early to scrape the dried pieces off the trays, so that the trays can be used again that day. Each vegetable is collected in a separate barrel to be combined and bagged at convenient times during the year.
Sounds efficient, doesn’t it? As first time volunteers a few years ago, my husband and I joined the people gathering around tables already supplied with cutting boards, and piles of vegetables. After selecting a sharp knife, we watched and learned how to deal with each type of vegetable. Soon we were in the swing of things, filling our buckets, to be picked up by someone going to the dicer. Conversations with others didn’t slow our rhythm at all.
Once in a while we would look around to stretch our necks and backs. An obviously mentally challenged man followed his worker who had just walked in. The worker took his place at the cutting table, but his charge just stood there, rocking back and forth, making sounds. But he was actually doing something. Positioned by the pile of beets, he handed them to his worker, one beet at a time! That’s all he was capable of doing, but you could tell he was happy in his work. He would rock faster and make louder sounds.
This observation made a deep impact on me. I realized that the process of serving was just as valuable as the end result. Everyone on the production team was important, even the mentally challenged man. The lowliest of all, he was doing his special work of handing over beets, one at a time. Let’s not look down on others or on ourselves for doing lowly jobs in the body of Christ.
Thank You, Lord, that each of us has a special place in the body of Christ, each doing an important and necessary job. Help us to appreciate the lowliest of members for their contribution. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Alice Burnett
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
