Veterans BBQ Extravaganza!

As a lover of all things culinary, it never ceases to amaze me how food unites us all in the fellowship of the spirit, through the breaking of bread together for the common purpose of creating community and common bonds of friendship and belonging. Our Lord often worked many of His miracles through food, including the loaves and the fish, the Wedding Feast at Cana, not to forget the Last Supper, where Apostolic Succession was instituted through the Eucharistic breaking of bread, and the sharing in the wine of salvation.

This brings me to our IVOS Summer BBQ event a few months ago, wherein we gathered our Veterans for some fine food on the BBQ, cooked by both our volunteers and one of our Veterans. There’s something about the nice weather, sizzling sausages and burgers over the grill, cold pop, and all the fixins’ that never fails to draw the folks in for some fellowship, good conversation, and opportunities to encounter Jesus. Our volunteers and staff, who are always there, are ready with a smile and a listening, empathic ear and predisposition of conscience, to come alongside our Veterans, meeting them where they are in their journey. We use a convivial environment of food and fellowship to directly minister the Gospel to our Veterans, through attraction rather than promotion, by being good apostles of Christ, and modelling the message and substance of our Lord’s essence through our ministry of presence.

Such ministry occurred this summer at our BBQ, and one of our volunteers managed to get one of our Veterans to become open to the message of Jesus and to embark upon a journey of healing, which he had not been able to do until recently as a result, in part, of the trauma caused by his military service.

So like John Mellencamp sang, "Everybody’s got the choice between hot dogs and hamburgers, everybody’s got the choice between right and wrong, of givin’ up or holdin’ on…" So, bring on the wienies and burgers, folks, it’s all about food, fellowship, conversation and conversion! I think Jesus would agree! Pass the mustard, please! Amen!

~ Peter, Veterans Housing Coordinator