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Over the last couple of years, we have had the distinct pleasure of learning a great deal about the operations of food rescue programs and food pantries. And, we have been fortunate to work alongside some people with sincere hearts for ministry and yet are completely unconstrained by conventional wisdom for how a food pantry should be operated. Because of their heart for the families they serve, they have continued to ask the hard questions: Why has it always been done that way? How can we better serve these families? How do we need to change how we operate to better serve these families long-term? How can we equip these families to re-establish their independence? Steve and Suellen Daniels at Meals by Grace identified a group of families that sincerely needed food assistance. They put together meals for the families and invited them to come by and pick them up. When several families did show up for the food, they asked why not. A social worker assisting them provided the answer. Th

Book Review: The Slaves Have Names: Ancestors Of My Home by Andi Cumbo-Floyd  They were the nameless and faceless people who served the General, built the plantation houses and barns, who tended to the horses and the fields, and who nursed the plantation owners children. They were the people who were enslaved at Bremo plantation in Virginia. When a white woman, Andi begins to study the history of Bremo, where she was raised, she begins to learn not only the names of the people buried in the graveyard on the land where she grew up, but she learns of their lives. Her research allows her to connect to the descendants of the former slaves and share with them about their ancestors. I found this to be a very emotionally moving look at the history of slavery in the United States. I recommend it to anyone willing to take a look at the underbelly of the history of our country.