Students from St. John’s Catholic School formed a human chain from their Pleasant Street location to the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program on Union Street on Thursday morning. In all, 536.6 pounds of food was delivered to the building, carried briefly by each student along the way.

The school was determined to pull off this annual event, which had been postponed twice. Food was donated by students, families and friends of St. John’s school and church.

Down the line, grade by grade, kids excitedly held aloft cereal boxes, pasta and an array of canned goods before passing them down the line to the next student. Chatting children were reminded by teachers not to disturb the neighbors.

Onlookers took pictures, drivers on Union Street slowed to watch and even a curious couple from The Gathering Place came to ask what the kids were up to. St. John’s Principal Patricia Berthiaume was part of the line.

“The human chain is a reflection of the students’ collective enthusiasm to give back to a community that has given them so much and to help our neighbors in need. Our students have grateful hearts and we are serving God when we serve one another,” Berthiaume said.

Berthiaume said Pope Francis has called their faith into action during this Holy Year of Mercy. She said there are numerous ways we can experience that mercy and participating in the St. John’s Catholic School annual “food chain” for Midcoast Hunger Prevention is yet another.

In a statement from the Portland diocese, the Holy Year of Mercy — Dec. 8, 2015 to Nov. 20, 2016 — was declared by Francis as an invitation for all to live faith more fully by seeking ways to reflect God’s love and mercy, both received and given. Giving mercy is accomplished through living out the corporal works of mercy, including to feed the hungry.

“One student in line passing goods to the next, that student passing to staff, volunteers, and even neighborhood participants is a physical demonstration of the priority we place on working together to reduce hunger in our community and the world,” Berthiaume said.

Berthiaume said a local effort to deliver a cache of food for those who would otherwise feel hunger is the goal, yet to share in this event is to become a part of an even greater feeling of joy while helping our fellow human being.

Quoting Luke 6:36 of the New Testament, Berthiaume said, “Be merciful as your Father is merciful.”

dmcintire@timesrecord.com

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