Yet these folks ventured to knock on the door at Prince of Peace, hoping he was still in residence — and indeed he was. Staffer Margaret Shively answered the door and actually had to apologize, since no food ministry then existed. She and the Rev. Jess Taylor, the rector, quickly began stocking the shelves, and the parish hasn’t had to apologize since. Ten years later, with ten interfaith partners in the west San Fernando Valley, the West Valley Food Pantry opened its doors. And on Saturday, executive director and COO Deborah Decker, who walks among the saints, cut the ribbon on a magnificent $6 million distribution site, warehouse, and community center that will enable the WVFP to continue to care for its thousands of clients every week for years to come.
Though founder Margaret, 94, died last year, she was present two years ago at the groundbreaking, and her daughter, Callie Shively, an MFT living and working in the Bay Area, was among her proud representatives Saturday. In 2023, I first met Deborah’s kitchen cabinet of devoted political partners — LA council member Bob Blumenfield, county supervisor Lindsey Horvath, and Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, a dynamic, thoughtful up and comer who was responsible for about $5 million in state funding. All were back at the mic Saturday, covering Deborah and the current longtime rector and strategic visionary, the Rev. Canon Rand Reasoner, with praise, and marveling at this peerless collaboration between government and faith leaders.
I was along to give thanks on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and recall the sound of that family’s knock on the door a half-century ago. “Sometimes, a vision takes 50 years to take its complete form,” I said. “In the Hebrew Bible, the year of Jubilee came every 50 years. People of privilege were required to forgive some of their debts, free the enslaved, and return to the places they had come from and take stock. People put their interests aside for the sake of others. Jubilee was a season for God’s people at their best. Happy Jubilee, Prince of Peace – and congratulations.”
The audience was redolent of collaboration and networking across difference for the glory of God and the sake of God’s people. The Rt. Rev. Naudal Alves Gomes, the Rev. Catherine Wager, and senior warden Cristina von Teuber were along from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys. My seat mate, Herm Fischer, WVFP board chair, is Jewish. We have found nothing important to disagree about so far. Over lunch, the associate rector, the Rev. Brian Tucker, and I had some good political talk with partners from the nearby Unitarian Universalist church. Outside on the plaza, Deborah compared notes with our Seeds of Hope colleagues. Everyone gave thanks for the partnership of Michael Flood, CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Here’s to another half-century of saying yes to those in need.
