The Soup Kitchen Turns 40!

By: Dan Kelley

In a sermon in the summer of 1984, Dr Tombs Kay suggested that what was needed at Church Street was a Soup Kitchen. Around the same time four other downtown churches started Soup Kitchens. Each of them took a weekday to serve lunch. Our day was Thursday.

On September 27, 1984, Church Street opened its doors to the less fortunate to answer this righteous request to “feed my sheep”. We only served five people, but it was a start. Over the years other churches dropped out for various reasons, but we continued.

We have been interrupted by renovations to the kitchen and the Parish Hall, and by Covid. We adjusted and found new ways to continue this mission.

What I love about Soup Kitchen is the loving can-do spirit of our volunteers and the examples of Grace that God shows to us as we try to fix a hot meal for our guests. Soup Kitchen is not a budgeted item, so we have to depend on the generosity of our congregation. They have never let us down! The money needed has always been found by the Grace of God.

It takes about 20 volunteers each week to cook and serve the meal, but it takes many more to prepare. It takes people to inventory and order food and supplies from Sysco. It takes people to order and pickup meat from United Grocery Outlet. It takes people to order and pickup produce from Farm Fresh. It takes people to come in on Wednesday and make tea and prep the drink table. It takes people to prep the serving line. It takes a lady that cannot come to Soup Kitchen but makes beautiful cakes at home. It takes people to coordinate volunteers. It takes a village of people behind the scenes to be ready for Thursday. And if one person has a schedule conflict or doctor’s appointment someone always steps up to fill the spot.

We have had times where equipment fails, ice and snow hits, people get sick, or more guests than we expected show up. We are afraid we will not have enough people or enough food when a “fishes and loaves” miracle happens. Extra people show up and bring their family or someone stops by with extra food leftover from a church dinner. We have come to expect Grace to happen.

The early motto of the Salvation Army was “Soup, Soap, and Salvation”.  The Soup Kitchen provides the soup, the Sharing Shop provides the soap, and though the loving kindness of our Church Street volunteers God provides the salvation.