Fighting World Hunger on the Potter's Wheel

Sr. Mariella spent time last summer teaching us how to write icons. This summer, she invited us novices and our directress, Sr. Natalie, into the pottery studio for some throwing on the wheel!

Sr. Leslie, Sr. Regina Rose and I all had prior experience throwing pots, and we soon found out that Sr. Natalie is a prodigy. Yeah. She learned in a day how to throw a pot on the wheel.

We had a great time, and we were able to contribute to a great cause! The bowls that we created will go to an Empty Bowls fundraiser.

"Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger and was created by The Imagine Render Group. The basic premise is simple: Potters and other craftspeople, educators and others work with the community to create handcrafted bowls. Guests are invited to a simple meal of soup and bread. In exchange for a cash donation, guests are asked to keep a bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. The money raised is donated to an organization working to end hunger and food insecurity."
http://www.emptybowls.net/


The bowls we contributed will benefit the Two Rivers Eccumenical Pantry, which currently serves 428 families. You can read more about it on Franciscanized World by clicking here.

Here are a couple pictures of what we made:

The prevalence of hunger in our world can be disheartening, especially when we watch videos of the people in Somalia who are suffering from the drought. We wonder if we can really make a difference in ending world hunger. However as Dewitt Jones says, we can make a contribution.

God uses our contributions and multiplies them. Just look what He has already done with the idea that one person or a small group of people had for "Empty Bowls": "Events have now taken place across the United States and in at least a dozen other countries. Many millions of dollars have been raised and donated to hunger-fighting organizations. We could never have imagined all the things people have done or all the ways the project has touched people" (http://www.emptybowls.net/).
And our prayers do more than we know.

When Jesus heard of [the death of St. John the Baptist], he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." (Jesus) said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking 5 the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over 6 --twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
-Matthew 14:13-21