For the past two weeks, Jeff and Alicia Lee, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel in Macedonia, have been hard at work harvesting grapes from their vineyards. It is a season of long days, shared work and gratitude for the abundance of the land.
But the harvest is about more than grapes.
Proceeds from the sale of the grapes are reinvested in the vineyard and shared with local partners, including the Food Bank of Macedonia and other organizations serving their communities. In this way, the work of the vineyard becomes a tangible expression of mission — creating resources that help nourish and strengthen people beyond the vineyard itself.
As we celebrate World Communion Sunday, we are reminded that the table we gather around is much larger than any one congregation or country. Christians around the world are connected through our shared faith, our shared calling and our commitment to care for our neighbors.
The harvest offers a beautiful picture of that connection: what is grown in one place can become nourishment and hope for people in another. Through the work of Jeff and Alicia and their local partners, we are reminded that mission is something we participate in together as a global community.
This World Communion Sunday, may we give thanks for the abundance we share, the partners who walk alongside us and the many ways God’s Table continues to make room for everyone.
Wilshire will make a return visit to Macedonia and the Lees in September 2027. Contact Associate Pastor Heather Mustain (hmustain@wilshirebc.org) to learn more.
Watch Jeff Lee’s video message for Wilshire: