In October of 2010 I wrote a letter to the community on behalf of the Downtown Churches’ Food Pantry. In that letter I proposed a program on behalf of the pantry, called “Harvest for the Hungry Sunday,” and informed the community that it would take place on Oct. 24.

The balance of the letter reminded us that God and Jesus and the church have always demonstrated that they cared about the plight of the hungry. That letter concluded with my question to the public, “Do we care?”

The purpose of this letter is to gratefully answer that question with a resounding, “Yes, we do care.”

The Harvest for the Hungry campaign was announced shortly before the Sunday of the event. We publicized and wrote letters to members of the community, both private and public.

There was little time to drum up support and we approached that day with some trepidation. Our goal was a hefty $40,000 to support the pantry for a year, and we prayed that it would be forthcoming.

On Oct. 24, we received gifts from the congregation and several sources in the community. On Oct. 25 we were able to deposit in excess of $25,000 and we praised God for having moved folks to contribute.

It has often been said, however, that God works on his own timetable, and since that time, his Spirit has continued to move in the hearts of Lawrence Countians and nearby neighbors.

As we closed the books on 2010, we rejoiced in finding that since the day of the Harvest, people and organizations have continued to give.

Funds have been received in addition to that day’s offerings, which now allow us to thank God and his servants for contributions in excess of $41,000. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

We hoped to send thank you notes to many of you who have given, but this will be impossible in scope and since so many of you gave anonymously.

Let me, however, say thank you to churches, health care providers, businesses, service clubs and professionals who provided over half of the donations. Let me give a very humble and appreciative word of thanks especially to the many private individuals who provided almost $18,000 of the total from their pockets to ours.

As you can see, the answer to my original question is a resounding, “Yes,” the people of Lawrence County do care.

We thank you for your gifts and for the support you have given. We are confident that your efforts, plus those of our regular sponsors, will allow us to assist many needy people during this coming year.

See you in the fall.

Rev. Wayne E. Young is pastor at First United Methodist Church in Ironton.