Feeding the Body and Soul

A year ago, a dear friend and staff member at International Rescue Committee (IRC), along with other committed employees and volunteers, dreamed of sharing a special meal with refugee families. They wanted to help refugees understand the meaning and importance of Thanksgiving in America, one of few holidays with a general appeal and not overly commercialized.

A local Morman Church was willing to provide the space for the meal, and the Tallahassee community rallied around this effort by IRC staff to make the day special for refugee families who were anxious about what might be ahead for them under a new administration.

The Tallahassee Fellowship, the congregation I pastor, was generous in providing the paper goods for the event and worked together in creating lovely table decorations that refugee families could take home.

• Many of the community volunteers for IRC cooked or purchased foods to share which were indigenous to our refugees as reminders of their own home country and cuisine.

• There was a craft table for the refugee children and community volunteers provided transportation to and from the event.

• Our refugee neighbors seemed to enjoy the attention lavished on them, and IRC staff and volunteers seemed to derive much meaning from being a part of this special day.

• For some it was especially profound considering the uncertainty of the days ahead for refugees, refugee service groups, and concerned citizens.

Which is what makes the second annual Thanksgiving Feast for Refugees in Tallahassee on November 8 all the more amazing. With the reduction in funding for refugee resettlement agencies across the county and the cessation of new refugees coming into the country since January 20, 2025, refugee services have been greatly reduced. But the remaining staff at Tallahassee IRC, along with community volunteers, sensed how important it was to share this tradition and meal and have gone all out to make it happen yet again!

It was on November 8 twenty-three years ago that then President George W. Bush established by proclamation that November 9 would be recognized as World Freedom Day, joining America with other nations in commemorating the historic falling of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.

The wall of barbed wire and concrete blocks dividing one side of Berlin, Germany, from the other had for thirty years been the defining symbol of the cold war. Its destruction is a symbol of hope. President Bush said in acknowledging the fragility of freedom,

“We celebrate the falling of the wall and renew our commitment to advancing democracy, peace and freedom for all throughout the world…. As we face new challenges and welcome new opportunities, we remain committed to protecting our freedom and helping others realize their dreams of liberty.”

Democracy, peace, and freedom are what refugees throughout the ages and around the world have sought in painfully leaving their beloved home countries and families to escape persecution and threat of death. The hardships and grief they endure, many in refugee camps for years, to make their way to a better life for themselves and their family members back home, is a story of courage and resilience. The refugees in our own community have heartbreaking narratives of up to seven years in the governmental pipeline of coming to America.

While the stories are heartbreaking, the gratitude that they express for the help they are receiving is heart-reviving. Though they have little, they are eager to share a cup of tea or offer fruit or bread as an act of hospitality and kindness with those who help them. I know of a small group of refugees who have been helped by a few local congregations and citizens in the community who are preparing a meal of their favorite ethnic foods to thank those of us who have helped them. How remarkable! And despite the hardships they face in our country, learning a new language and facing discrimination among the hardest, they hold on to dreams of liberty.

This morning, I found a sweet note on the counter next to the sink. It read: “I love you and it makes me sad when you are sad.” As so many people are continuing to face hardships that seem cruel and insurmountable, it is difficult for me to keep my spirits lifted. Perhaps you have felt that sadness, too. My husband knows of my sadness better than most and left a kind message of empathy before heading out for his day.

In 1995, Daniel Grollman wrote a book, “Emotional Intelligence,” identifying three types of empathy: cognitive, emotional, and compassionate. Cognitive empathy involves taking another’s perspective intellectually without feeling what they might feel. Emotional empathy is feeling what someone else is feeling in your own body without understanding cognitively their lives and struggles. Compassionate empathy combines both cognitive and emotional empathy: you understand the other person’s situation, you feel what they feel, and you take a step further by acting to help the person. While empathy of any type can be helpful, it is most helpful to move in the direction of compassionate empathy.

It is what we saw from Second Harvest of the Big Bend this weekend past as they both understood the concern for many regarding the basic human need for food in light of the government shutdown, felt the fear and anxiety of the more than 96,000 individuals in our area alone who depend on SNAP benefits to eat, and translated their cognitive and emotional empathy into compassionate action with an amazing food distribution in the Sear’s parking lot of the Governor’s Square Mall on November 1.

Second Harvest CEO, Monique Ellsworth, has already sent out an email “with gratitude and urgency” to rally the volunteers again to restock the warehouse and assist in distributing food to our neighbors who would otherwise go hungry, scheduling another distribution on November 6, from 3-7 PM in the same Sear’s parking lot.

Imagine my encouragement when I spoke with Jacob from Second Harvest on Monday past about organizing a food distribution for refugees after the Thanksgiving Feast this Saturday. He wanted to know the details and asked how they might help. Two dry boxes to families who live in scarcity is an amazing gift. And this demonstration of compassionate empathy is happening in food banks all over the nation.

It is one of those moments in time when our humanity and connectedness with each other is most palpable. We all have to eat, and as in times past in our nation, sharing what we have with each other is critical not only for the wellbeing of those who are hungry, but for the souls of those who have enough.

IRC Tallahassee and their volunteers continue to serve the refugee families that live in our community, doing as much as possible to give them every opportunity to be self-sustaining during a difficult time. This lovely meal on Saturday is a way they are tending to more than the basic need to eat, they are also tending to the soul and a sense of being held by a community that welcomes and cares for them. I pray that they feel a sense of belonging as we break bread together on Saturday.

And I pray if you have an interest in supporting refugees in our community, you will consider donating to a fund for emergency housing that is managed by Emergency Care Help Organization and can be found here: https://secure.anedot.com/echo/refugees or by mailing or delivering a check, made payable to ECHO and earmarked Refugee Emergency Housing Fund, to 548 E. Bradford Rd., Tallahassee, FL 32303.

Rev. Candace McKibben

November 6, 2025