Christ and the poor
Caring for the poor is undoubtedly one of the central ideas in the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is found repeatedly in the holy Gospels. Indeed, it is so central that He proclaimed that He identified Himself with those who are poor, hungry, socially and physically disadvantaged. In an amazing statement in Matthew’s gospel, He blesses those who feed the poor using personal terms: “I have begged and given me food, I have given and received food” (25:35). This kind of complete identification of Christ with the poor is unique among the various religions of the world. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that we, who claim to follow Christ, also have a non-negotiable obligation to help the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger – wherever we find them!
The Orthodox Mission of Sierra Leone and the Hungry
The Orthodox Mission in Sierra Leone takes the above teaching of Christ very seriously. We are in one of the poorest nations on the planet, recovering from a long and barbaric civil war, a deadly Ebola epidemic and devastating floods. Therefore, the obligation to feed the poor becomes an imperative element of the practical theology (“orthopraxis”) of our mission.
The Orthodox Foreign Missionary Brotherhood
For the realization of this Orthodoxy, we are very grateful to our friends in Greece and especially to the Brotherhood of Orthodox Foreign Mission. Every year, for several years now, we have received at least one container of food and other supplies. In fact, during the Ebola epidemic, we received at least two containers annually. In particular, we are grateful for the generous supply of rice and oil. Rice is a staple daily food for the people of Sierra Leone. These essential supplies are part of the various food programs of our mission.
School Meals Programme
On the outskirts of the capital city of Freetown, we have established a complex of multi-faceted facilities – the great Church of the Resurrection of Christ and St. Moses of Ethiopia (sponsored by the Orthodox Foreign Missionary Fraternity), a kindergarten, an elementary school, a medical clinic, a large catering area, lodgings for a community for the disabled, two houses for the priests and hostels for the workers and volunteer visitors of the mission. Our schools in this complex have 485 students and twelve teachers.
Every day we offer them a free hot meal. In addition, we feed all the staff of the complex. This means that every working day we feed a free cooked meal to more than 500 people. It is important to remember that many of the children who attend our school come from an environment of extreme poverty. In fact, some of them have been orphaned by Ebola. Before we started this food programme last year, many of our students came to school on an empty stomach and could hardly concentrate in class. It was a struggle for them to find a hot meal on a guaranteed daily basis. This situation has now changed. We here in Sierra Leone are very grateful to your brotherhood for this wonderful contribution of food – especially rice – to feed the hungry children of Waterloo.
Sunday Supper Programme
Every Sunday after Mass, we offer a free hot meal to our entire congregation at both the Cathedral of Saints Liberty and George in Freetown and at our church in Waterloo. In addition, we distribute food supplies (especially rice, oil and sugar) to those most in need, including members of our Waterloo disability community.
Among the poor in Freetown and Waterloo the news has spread that our Church offers free meals on Sundays without asking for contributions or tithes from anyone. This is almost a unique example in this country. That’s why the numbers are growing every week.
Thank you
I would like to thank your noble Brotherhood, all the volunteers who work hard to gather the supplies, load the container and travel all this food across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean to be distributed to the poor of Sierra Leone. Thank you for serving as our missionary partners for the feeding of the poor and therefore for the feeding of Christ himself.
God bless you!
✝ Fr. Themistocles Adamopoulos
Freetown, Sierra Leone
