ING’s Fall 2013 Interfaith Service Days

 
Friday, December 20, 2013

Address: 150 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco
Time: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Service: Help St. Anthony’s with food preparation and delivery
Outcomes: After serving food to over 200 guests, we learned about the diverse needs of the people served by St. Anthony’s programs and discussed interfaith perspectives on justice and compassion.

ING’s fifth and final interfaith service day took place at the St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco on Friday, December 20th, 2013. The service day began with an overview of the history and a description of the services provided by St. Anthony’s. Then volunteers headed to the dining hall where they were provided with an orientation and training . Some volunteers were assigned to serve on the food line or bus tables, while the bulk of volunteers were given the task of delivering the food trays to the tables. The dining hall remains open for a couple of hours and feeds hundreds of people free of charge. On their lunch break, the volunteers were invited to share food and conversation with the guests.

After lunch the volunteers were invited to debrief and reflect on their experiences. The group then heard from two graduates from St. Anthony’s alcohol and drug rehabilitation program who related the life experiences that lead them into addiction, and the role which St. Anthony played towards their recovery.

All the volunteers expressed their appreciation for the learning experience and the opportunity to serve. It was truly an interfaith moment, as the volunteers from various faiths were shown the face of poverty, hunger, and drug addiction, life challenges which are addressed by all religious traditions along with the injunction to serve.

Note: Due to restrictions on photographing dining room guests, we only have a limited number of photographs.