Day Three

Today we had a great day exploring a few neighborhoods right outside of Boston. We started the day like we normally do, aside from Denis forgetting to wake up the girls. We left a little later than we wanted to and took a long drive to our morning mission site, Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities has a volunteer-run food pantry in Somerville. 

Once at the Somerville Food Pantry, our first job was to unload and sort boxes of food. The first truck that came carried non perishable items, and the second came with fresh produce and baked goods from stores. We were fascinated with this careful use of goods that were perfectly good to eat, but were to be thrown out by the stores. A wonderful organization called Lovin' Spoonfuls provided these foods. We served many people, they could choose from potatoes and other produce to bread loaves and baked goods. It was an amazingly stocked food pantry with lots of options for those with families, and the organization really captured the idea that everyone deserves a healthy and fulfilling meal.

After serving those coming into the pantry, and a quick stop at Union Square Doughnuts, we headed to our next destination, which was St. John the Evangelist Monastery. On our walk over, we went through some cute neighborhoods, and we even walked through some of the Harvard campus, where a few of us decided that’s where we would apply for college (what, like it’s hard?). After a long walk, we finally made it to the monastery. 

Upon our arrival at the monastery, we were greeted by Brother Jonathon, one of the monks who has been a part of the SSJE (Society of Saint John the Evangelist) community for over thirty years. He explained to us monastic life along with his story about how he became a monk. Following our discussion were welcomed to participate in their 5:30 Eucharist. Many of us were surprised to find that the service was so similar to our own at Holy Comforter. We had a great time learning about and experiencing a little bit of monastic life. 

Today was yet another great day in Boston. It was great to experience the surrounding neighborhoods, and help those in need. We can’t wait for tomorrow. 

Post by: Gwen M, Emma S, Owen S, and Mark S