Minister message - Giving thanks and giving hope
A local pastor reflects on gratitude, compassion, and the importance of addressing hunger through action and community care.
- By Pastor Tim Falk
October 16, 2025
key points from this story:
- Encourages gratitude and empathy
- Church supports local food bank
- Focus on living like Jesus
- Calls to address hunger locally
- Suggests helping through donations
- Highlights community compassion
My seven-year-old daughter sometimes says: I’m starving! We’ve told her, “No, you're not. Starving is when your body starts to break down your muscle and organ tissue”. This didn’t really connect with her. So, the next time she said she was starving I pulled out my phone and Googled: “starving children”. When I found the pictures, I didn’t really want to show her. I found some of the less traumatic ones and we talked about the suffering in our world.
As a church we have been growing and harvesting a garden for the Wynyard and Area Food Bank for the last 4 years. We believe it is our calling to be a part of the answer to hunger in our community and in our world.
We call ourselves followers of Jesus. Jesus was one who fed the hungry and showed compassion for those who were suffering. Unfortunately, along the way the church has forgotten the life of Jesus and focused only on his birth and death.
Jesus died and rose again so that people could experience new life. And that new life should look like His, which involved caring for the poor and the suffering. Jesus took time to show people they are valuable. Being a Christian is not just about what happens when I die, it is about the life I want to live right now, and the life I want for others.
As we have recently passed through the thanksgiving season, consider the things you are thankful for, and the things others might not have. Whether you call yourself a Christian or not, I encourage you to consider the difficulties of the people around you. There are some people that eat too much while others don’t have enough, and we can be a part of the solution.
I know many of us know that supporting the Food Bank is important, so today I encourage you to put a face to hunger. There are many ways to support and feed children directly in other countries. One that I trust is Compassion International (compassion.ca). Through organizations like Compassion International you can know that your money directly impacts the life of a child and their community.
I love that our football team collects food for the Food Bank. And people are always generous at Halloween when we collect food for the Food Bank. And we know so many people that go out of their way to care for others in the community. This is good. My encouragement is to take a moment to consider if there is something we are thankful for that others don’t have. And then choose to make a difference, and when possible, put a face to hunger.
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