In commemoration of Jesus’ triumphal but humble donkey ride into Jerusalem amid waving palm fronds, faith groups marched and congregated in downtown Valparaiso Sunday afternoon to encourage each other and the community this Palm Sunday to feed the hungry, heal the sick and welcome the stranger.
Rev. Tim Leitzke of Trinity Lutheran Church told those gathered in his parish courtyard the story of Palm Sunday and then the group and their banners and palm fronds walked the few blocks to the courthouse square, where pastors offered reflection on excerpts from the James and Matthew books of the Bible, and three others offered testimony of hunger, sickness and emigration experienced in Valparaiso.
More Top Picks Best Blue Light Glasses For Kids
Sponsored by We Make Indiana, a consortium of faith-based groups working to make the state a more compassionate and livable place, the event drew nearly 200 people of all ages. Caroline Ban, of Chesterton, was listening to the speeches with her father-in-law Dan Ban, who was visiting from Minneapolis, and her 10-year-old son Teddy.
“We have food on the table. We’re not hungry. We’re citizens. We’re not strangers, and we have our health, thank God, so why not take an hour out of our day to stand up for people that don’t have these things?” she said. “It can be easy to think about your own problems and your own issues.”
Rev. Rich Schmidt of Living Hope Community Church spoke on feeding the hungry. “What good is it if people claim they have faith, but do nothing to show it?” he asked. “If those beliefs don’t translate into any faithful acts from our neighbors, what good are they?” He said scripture calls these dead acts.
Carolina Sanchez told the crowd she and her husband moved to Valparaiso eight years ago. A few years later, her daughter and five grandchildren moved in with them. It became difficult to feed everyone and she talked about one elderly man she met in a food pantry line who was “keeping his furnace set at 59 degrees trying to keep his bill from rising any higher,” she said.
“It saddens me that buying food is more of a luxury now. We are asking for a community, a government, that makes it easier for families to survive.”
Roxane Abbott, of Valparaiso, testified in the Heal the Sick portion of the program. She told the crowd that she was so relieved when she received a $200 increase to her Social Security disability benefits that she thought would give her a little breathing room. Instead, the increase disqualified her from all her other benefits.
“I lost everything,” she said of food stamps, prescription drug supplement, medical coverage outside of Medicaid, and dental, vision and hearing aid coverage. “The increase that I thought was a godsend turned into a nightmare.”
Rev. Cathy Carpenter, of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, read from the Book of Matthew on welcoming the stranger. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
The groups welcome the community to put their faith into action at a workshop that will teach one-on-one relationship-building from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 9, at Christ Lutheran Church in Valparaiso. They have also called on state legislators to meet with them.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.