This is a poignant story of how a tenacious group of seven individuals from a Philadelphia church transformed a modest initiative to serve food to those with HIV/AIDS into a vibrant, interfaith nonprofit organization called "Manna" (Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) -- and in the process, revitalized their community, themselves, and their church.
The book describes ten life-giving lessons they experienced during "Manna's" early years. These universal lessons include:
-- The greatest insights came from the most vulnerable in our midst
-- The "leaps of faith" we took filled our spirits with vitality
-- To thrive in the midst of massive turbulence required deep roots and radical shifts carefully timed
-- "Manna" both sharpened and healed the tensions between race and social class
-- The miraculous was contained within the mundane
The book depicts how "Manna" overcame tremendous obstacles -- namely, fear and ignorance of AIDS and a lack of funding to accomplish benevolent goodness.
