Co-Suffering & the Hike Against Hunger
How far would you go to fight hunger? On Saturday, November 7, at 1 AM, Father Justin Mathews, Executive Director of Reconciliation Services, set out with the KC Heart of America team led by Dr. Paul Chan to hike the Grand Canyon, 50 miles in 24 hours, to raise awareness and funds to combat food insecurity and hunger in our community.
In the 11 years Dr. Chan has led the hike they have raised over $1 million to support organizations which address hunger while also valuing the dignity and gifts of the people they serve. This year they gave $5,000 to Reconciliation Services in support of Thelma’s Kitchen and the strengths-based support we provide to our neighbors, and they challenged us to match their gift by the time they returned to basecamp on Sunday at 1 AM.
Thanks to the generosity of many in the community, we were able to more than double the Heart of America gift, raising $13,368.13 total as of this writing.
This year’s hike against hunger was particularly well-timed as more and more people in Kansas City and around the world struggle to make ends meet due to COVID-19. Right here in our region, 387,210 are expected to become food insecure this year. That’s 1 out of 7 people in our community who do not know if they’ll have food tomorrow or if they can feed their family.
Fr. Justin and Dr. Paul Chan reflect on their hike against hunger.
Dr. Chan says this annual pilgrimage to hike the Grand Canyon always gives him a renewed perspective for what people less fortunate than himself are struggling with on a daily basis just to survive, “The grandiosity of the canyon, the depth of the canyon, really symbolizes a lot of the challenges people in our community have to overcome just to have food security, for housing security, just to have a fighting chance for a good, dignified life."
Fr. Justin echoes Dr. Chan’s sentiment and shares how this humbling hike, a 50 mile trek that left his knees swollen and his feet blistered, gave him deep, visceral empathy for what people living in poverty and dealing with the effects of trauma experience every day, “The reality in that suffering for me was that I couldn't think. I was trying really hard to think, to pray, to work through some things, but I couldn't think of anything but one foot in front of the other. It really reminded me of our neighbors who are struggling to survive and succeed. And how hard it is to just make those basic daily decisions when you're suffering, especially physically in pain or suffering from trauma.”
Fr. Justin says the only thing that got him through were his fellow hikers suffering along side him, much like when the community in our neighborhood at 31st and Troost step up to support one another. “Co-suffering makes the suffering bearable. When you and I, and the others in the group, were suffering together we weren't saying much, particularly during that last ascent, but we were in it together. And that suffering that we were going through together wasn't reduced, but it was made bearable. And so often what people really need and want is not someone to take away their suffering, that's not what charity is about only, it's actually to enter into the suffering with someone and to co-suffer with them and that thereby the suffering gets transformed.”
Suffering transformed into resiliency and opportunities to give back are why our mission is to reveal the strength of those we serve. The transformation known as healing is why we provide social and mental health services to our neighbors struggling in poverty and why we prioritize relationship over handouts. And it’s why Dr. Chan, Fr. Justin, the other hikers, and everyone who supports our work chooses to take that extra step and to give generously of themselves and their God-given abilities.
We are so grateful to Dr. Chan and the Heart of America team for supporting Reconciliation Services. We’ll close with some wisdom he shared after returning from the 50-mile hike, “In the process of having others join in this trek (as a hiker or YOU as a supporter), we have found that our Walk every year is a time to celebrate our willingness to take a stand and say, unequivocally, that hunger anywhere is unacceptable and not immutable. But we should not be content with just this walk. Especially now with the effects of COVID-19 tearing at the economic, social, and cultural fabric of our communities, I encourage us all to practice simple and sincere acts of kindness and love daily--with family members, neighbors, work colleagues, but also with strangers. By embarking on consistent and daily acts of both random and non-random kindness and compassion with others, I believe we can create a renewed sense of community in our lives, find joy and hope in overlooked places, and discover the gifts that all people—poor and non-poor—bring to the table.”
>>>> This fundraising effort kicks off our end of year campaign and we need your help. We received just over $80,000 in emergency funding for our neighbors from the MO Cares Relief Fund, but it ends on November 16! Will you help us match that funding before year end so we can ensure our most vulnerable neighbors stay housed and warm this winter? Thank you for giving generously for the sake of another. <<<<