Dick Gabel came in and talked to us about his life and his mission, especially where food distribution (which is what Second Harvest, the company he worked with, does) is concerned. He talked about how his life had been affected by the desire to give a voice to the poor and the marginalized, especially within the context of being a pastor and a dedicated Christian. Mr. Gabel talked about how he became a pastor and started realizing that urban ministry was certainly calling him. He was at Zion Lutheran in St. Paul for awhile, which is near Rice Street, which used to be a very multicultural and dangerous area to be from. They did so many things for the community to pick them off their feet. It certainly worked for a while, and the people really benefited. He worked hard to redistribute the food that was being thrown out in dumpsters, especially those from restaurants and such, and giving them to the poor who need them or want them. This is the main work of Second Harvest, to make food available to those who need it from what is going to waste or maybe just is donated. It is a great program and is truly sensible. Dick Gabel was a pretty good speaker. I talked fast, which kept my attention focused, but was hard to take notes on. I felt like what he said definitely pertained to leading a life of action, focused what we can do to help the poor. And not only that, but what Christ can do through is is a huge part of that. I enjoyed the talk. Like I said, it was interesting, but it was hard to take notes on him because he talked to fast. Other than that, it was an excellent time and I learned a bit about the weird things that you have to deal with when you ask for donations (like a truckload of bubble gum). I guess more than anything, it was good to hear that organizations are out there working to eliminate poverty, and to learn about Second Harvest just in general was pretty good, too. I liked Dick Gabel.
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