Jill Aventosa-Brown, associate pastor at West Market Street United Methodist Church

Greensboro ministers participated in a special Mobile Meals delivery in March. Jill Aventosa-Brown, associate pastor at West Market Street United Methodist Church, describes her experience.

At the end of March I had the privilege of riding with one of the dedicated volunteers for Greensboro’s Mobile Meals.

We had 18 stops, most of them single, but some were for two members of a family. Each time as the recipients came to the door, we were greeted with smiles and anticipation. I can only imagine how it feels to wait for that one visit a day and the hot meal that arrives with it.

The procedure is simply to drop off the meal and go, but my partner said he always asks how the person is doing and takes a good look around to see if anything is amiss. That day, I saw in real terms the importance of this act of service, not only for the physical nourishment it brings but also for the moral and emotional support it offers.

As people of faith, and for me specifically as a Christian minister, this is a way to exercise the great commandment of Jesus Christ to love God and our neighbor. We are created for relationships, and this simple act of bringing food — physical and spiritual, goes a long way towards building community within our city.

I hope you will consider volunteering, or riding with someone who is a volunteer, as a way to get to know our community and share in its goodness.

If you’d like to volunteer, contact volunteer coordinator James Joyce at 336-373-4816, ext. 249. To donate, call executive director Ellen Whitlock at 336-373-4816 or go to the link on the website at: http://www.senior-resources-guilford.org/youcanhelp.cfm.