“WE ARE ALL EQUAL”

Volunteers share message on annual day of service

Margo Levin and her 13-yearold son, Ari, filled up plastic bags with rice and seasonings and a recipe for Spanish rice on the morning of Jan. 18 to remember Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service.

“I am acknowledging the civil rights movement to remind us that we are all equal,” Ari said, as he participated in the third annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Reading/ Berks and the Immanuel United Church of Christ, Shillington.

Margo Levin said it is important that during the coronavirus pandemic and the intense political climate that we do not forget that everyone is equal.

Tracy Weiss, 48, of Wyomissing,

said that it’s important the children learn to give back to the community.

“Everybody should help each other,” she said.

Helping one another and working together was the theme of the day at the church where volunteers were dropping off food and beverages to benefit Helping Harvest, a food bank that distributes food to people struggling with hunger in Berks and Schuylkill counties.

Everyone was wearing a mask and working 6 feet apart in the church social hall and outside on the front lawn on Waverly Street.

More than 100 volunteers participated throughout the day.

“We are all working to make the world a better place,” said Amanda J. Hornberger, program director of the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks.

Megan Huesgen, pastor of Immanuel United Church of Christ, said the interfaith activity teaches the children about working together with one another.

“Loving your neighbor is a common Christian and Jewish value,” Huesgen said.

Huesgen then quoted King: “True peace is not

merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”

The pastor said that people were looking to do something special on the holiday.

“It took a lot of creativity to set this up in a COVID safe way,” Huesgen said.

In the church kitchen, a group of volunteers was preparing soups for the Souper Bowl of Caring to provide hot soup to the hungry on Super Bowl Sunday, on Feb. 7.

Andrew Huesgen, 14, the pastor’s son, said he feels great spending the day with his friends to help people.

Marisol Martinez, 42, and her daughter, Aalyah, 8, of West Reading, were working outside at a table tying knots on the fringes of a felt blanket to be donated to the community.

The mother and daughter said they enjoyed spending the holiday working together to help others.

BEN HASTY — MEDIANEWS GROUP Margo Levin, right, of Wyomissing, works with other volunteers to assemble Spanish Rice mixes at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Jan. 18 during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day activity. The event was sponsored by the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading/ Berks.

Amanda Hornberger, program director at the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks, shows volunteers how to assemble the ingredients for a bean soup mix during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day program at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning. Watching, from left, are Simon Bolich, 12, hi s sister Vivienne, 7, and their mother Rayna, of Exeter.

Amanda Hornberger, the Program Director at the Jewish Federation of Reading / Berks, show volunteers how to assemble the ingredients for a bean soup mix. Right is Susie Ernesto, of Shillington. At the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning January 18, 2021 during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading.

BEN HASTY — MEDIANEWS GROUP Tracy Weiss, of Wyomissing, works with other volunteers to assemble bags of a Spanish Rice mix at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The church and the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks sponsored the program.

Volunteers, from left, Liz Danielski of Sinking Spring and Rayna Bolich of Exeter working with other volunteers to assemble bags and jars of bean soup mix that will be donated on Monday at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day program was sponsored by the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks.

Margo Levin, and Samuel Weiss, 9, both of Wyomissing, work with other volunteers to assemble Spanish Rice mixes at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The church and the Jewish Federation of Reading/ Berks sponsored the event.

Carrie Ann Anderson, the Assistant Teacher in the 5-day pre-k class at the Immanuel United Church of Christ, gives students food items to help sort. At the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning January 18, 2021during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading.

Madison Kaley, the 5day pre-K teacher at Immanuel United Church of Christ, gives instructions to her students about how to help sort food items. At the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning January 18, 2021during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading.

Students in the 5day pre-K class at Immanuel Unite Church of Christ line up to go outside after helping to sort donated food items. At the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning January 18, 2021 during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading.

From left, Nathan Martinez, 11, his sister Aalyah, 8, and their mother Marisol, of West Reading, work on a tie blanket during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day program at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning. The event was sponsored by the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks.

A volunteer empties a bag of beans into a pan that will be used to assemble bean soup kits in plastic bags and mason jars. At the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning January 18, 2021during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading.

Daniel Reilly, center, of Wyomissing, works with other volunteers to assemble Spanish Rice mixes at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning January 18, 2021 during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks.

Spanish Rice mixes assembled by volunteers at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Shillington Monday morning January 18, 2021, during a program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day with the church and the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks.