Giving Thanks – A Day in the Life at St. Anthony’s!

In less than a week, St. Anthony’s will be celebrating the annual Holiday of Thanksgiving along with much of the Country. The St. Anthony community of guests, volunteers, staff, and Foundation supporters will join in the traditional meal in the Dining Room, a family to be sure, as other families are doing so far and wide. But what a family here at 45 Jones Street! And this family gathers 365 days a year in the Dining Room …

…  Any one of those days is a day of giving thanks, and yesterday was no exception. Just before we began to serve the meal, we gathered together to remember the life of a wonderful man—a volunteer and St. Anthony supporter in so many ways over the years. Gene had passed away recently, but not without leaving a lasting impression of joy and generosity on all of us in the St. Anthony’s family. We shared memories amongst tears and laughter, at the same time another member of our inclusive family was pushing a cart of food across the Dining Room expanse as quietly as he could: one of our beloved neighbors who shares the kitchen when preparing celebration meals for a nearby mosque. Yesterday, the tasty items he brought over to prepare were for Eid Al-Adha.

And my heart swelled with joy—even in the middle of sadness—sadness for the loss of a dear member of our “family”, sadness for the growing number of people living in poverty, and sadness for so many divisions of mistrust in our world. The joy of being in community, of being in family with everyone who walks through the Dining Room doors, sets the table each day with the most important ingredient of every meal for each and every person—that essential ingredient is belonging.