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Published by International
Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) ,
August 18, 2003
'Loaves & Fishes'
Multiplying In Atlanta
Atlanta (IOCC) - Orthodox
Christians are known more for their food festivals
than their food programs. But in places like
Atlanta, that's changing.
In January, the 13 Orthodox
parishes of Greater Atlanta, representing eight
jurisdictions, began a cooperative effort to
support the "Loaves & Fishes" food ministry of St.
John the Wonderworker Orthodox Church (OCA) near
downtown Atlanta. Since then, Orthodox Christians
have been giving their volunteer labor, as well as
donations of perishable and non-perishable food
items, to assist the poor and homeless of
inner-city Atlanta.
"It's been very helpful to us,"
said Fr. Jacob Myers, pastor of St. John's. "I
haven't gone to the Atlanta Community Food Bank at
all in the past six months because I've been able
to rely on the Orthodox donations."
The pan-Orthodox effort was
launched with the support of the U.S. Program of
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)
and under the auspices of IOCC's Atlanta
Metropolitan Committee. It soon received the
blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios of
the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta and the
Orthodox clergy association of Atlanta.
"People are excited when they see
something that's organized and unified," said
Costa Panos, chairman of the Atlanta Metropolitan
Committee. "It makes us more visible as Orthodox
Christians and shows that we're working together
to help alleviate poverty in Atlanta."
Panos said the current economic
downturn has aggravated the problems of
homelessness, poverty and hunger in Atlanta. The "Loaves
& Fishes" program feeds up to 100 people every
weekday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. What kind of food
the people receive depends on donations, Fr. Jacob
said. Individuals and families are served a hot
meal or a sandwich, and families receive canned
goods that they can take home with them.
Through collection barrels that
have been set up all participating churches,
parishioners are able to donate canned goods,
which are delivered to St. John's once a week.
Lately, hot meals have been donated from parish
festivals and other parish events in the city.
Metropolitan committee members have started
soliciting donations of food from grocery stores
and Orthodox-owned restaurants. Through monetary
donations, Fr. Jacob is able to keep the program
well-stocked with lunchmeats and other necessities.
"I was getting a little worn out
after 10 years of doing it," he said. "This makes
our job easier, and the people seem to enjoy
having a unified service program in the city."
IOCC's U.S. Program Director Robert
Pianka said the Atlanta initiative demonstrates
how regional pan-Orthodox cooperation can have an
immediate positive impact. "If we focus our
resources, we can help more people, better and
better, in more ways," Pianka said. "This
combination of stewardship and the sharing of
God's gifts in projects like 'Loaves & Fishes' is
the essence of Orthodox philanthropy."
Fr. Jacob started the "Loaves &
Fishes" program soon after St. John's was founded
in 1989, a mile away from one of Atlanta's poorest
neighborhoods. "There's an Orthodox principle that
you never turn anybody away when they ask you for
help," he said. "We could not ignore the fact that
there were poor and homeless people all around us,
and that they were hungry."
Panos said the energy behind the
pan-Orthodox initiative has not waned. If anything,
it's gotten stronger. "It's certainly awakened a
lot of people to see the problems we're having in
the city," Panos said. "People are starting to
realize that making a little sacrifice once or
twice a week goes a long way, especially if every
Orthodox family does it. We want to get all
Orthodox Christians into the habit of buying a
little extra food and bringing it to church."
Pianka said the "Loaves & Fishes"
program could serve as a model for other U.S.
cities.
Founded in 1992, IOCC is the humanitarian aid
agency of Orthodox Christians. For more
information about IOCC's U.S. Program, please
visit
www.iocc.org or call toll-free 1-877-803-4622.
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