| A SOUP MINISTRY IS BORN..... |
| St. Vincent de Paul Conference |
Copyright , 2009 Our Lady of La Salette Catholic Church ~ Canton, Georgia
| Our Lady of La Salette Catholic Church |
A Roman Catholic Church of the Archdioceses of Atlanta
Every Tuesday morning after morning Mass a group of parishioners meet for an We
read and discuss in detail the Sunday readings. We talk about what they meant at
the time they were written as well as how they apply to our lives today. I lead this
Bible Study and as you well know I am always challenging all of us to become more
authentic disciples. “What are you going to do with the Word this week?” I always
ask. “The Word demands action,” I remind them.
A new member had joined the Tuesday morning Bible Study group and began
asking “What are those men doing standing around on Hwy 140 in Canton?” We
responded that they were day-laborers waiting for work. “Do they have food to
eat?” she asked. “Probably not” we replied. After Bible Study we began discussing
the needs of those men and as we talked we began to ask ourselves what we could
do. How could we put into “action” what the “Word” told us and minister to these
men. Plans were made to bring soup and sandwiches to serve the next week. The
next Tuesday after Bible Study we all drove to the meeting place and after
explaining to the men that we had no work for them that we “just came to have lunch
with them” they were so excited. As we began to serve them the soup and
sandwiches they began to smile and talk to us. They told us they waited in this spot
everyday in hope of getting some work. “Times are hard now” they said. “Many
days go by and we get no work.” We asked “How do you eat, where do you sleep,
how do you provide for your families?” They told us “it is very hard and many times
we don’t eat.” We discovered that some of them had lost their homes and were
living under the bridges. Initially we planned to go once or twice a month. Soon,
however, it became apparent that the need was just too great to be left to once or
twice a month. For many of these men this was the only meal they would have to
eat that day. So, in faith, we stepped out knowing that somehow God would provide
the means for us to go each week. God has been wonderfully faithful.
We began by feeding 15 to 20 men and are now feeding anywhere from 60 to 100
men weekly. This ministry continues to grow by leaps and bounds and to date we
have fed approximately 1,200 men. A typical meal consists of fresh hot soup,
tortillas, fruit, sandwiches, and water or other beverage. Clothing, blankets, gloves,
hats, socks, toiletries, etc. have also been provided as they have become
available. This ministry is quickly becoming a parish-wide effort. Our lives have
been forever changed and each week as we minister to these men our prayer is
that they will see Jesus thru us, for certainly we see Jesus in them. We have been
enriched, blessed and humbled beyond measure by these men and this ministry.
read and discuss in detail the Sunday readings. We talk about what they meant at
the time they were written as well as how they apply to our lives today. I lead this
Bible Study and as you well know I am always challenging all of us to become more
authentic disciples. “What are you going to do with the Word this week?” I always
ask. “The Word demands action,” I remind them.
A new member had joined the Tuesday morning Bible Study group and began
asking “What are those men doing standing around on Hwy 140 in Canton?” We
responded that they were day-laborers waiting for work. “Do they have food to
eat?” she asked. “Probably not” we replied. After Bible Study we began discussing
the needs of those men and as we talked we began to ask ourselves what we could
do. How could we put into “action” what the “Word” told us and minister to these
men. Plans were made to bring soup and sandwiches to serve the next week. The
next Tuesday after Bible Study we all drove to the meeting place and after
explaining to the men that we had no work for them that we “just came to have lunch
with them” they were so excited. As we began to serve them the soup and
sandwiches they began to smile and talk to us. They told us they waited in this spot
everyday in hope of getting some work. “Times are hard now” they said. “Many
days go by and we get no work.” We asked “How do you eat, where do you sleep,
how do you provide for your families?” They told us “it is very hard and many times
we don’t eat.” We discovered that some of them had lost their homes and were
living under the bridges. Initially we planned to go once or twice a month. Soon,
however, it became apparent that the need was just too great to be left to once or
twice a month. For many of these men this was the only meal they would have to
eat that day. So, in faith, we stepped out knowing that somehow God would provide
the means for us to go each week. God has been wonderfully faithful.
We began by feeding 15 to 20 men and are now feeding anywhere from 60 to 100
men weekly. This ministry continues to grow by leaps and bounds and to date we
have fed approximately 1,200 men. A typical meal consists of fresh hot soup,
tortillas, fruit, sandwiches, and water or other beverage. Clothing, blankets, gloves,
hats, socks, toiletries, etc. have also been provided as they have become
available. This ministry is quickly becoming a parish-wide effort. Our lives have
been forever changed and each week as we minister to these men our prayer is
that they will see Jesus thru us, for certainly we see Jesus in them. We have been
enriched, blessed and humbled beyond measure by these men and this ministry.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
| The soup ministry is always taking donations - whether it's food or financial, simply leave what you can at the Parish Center marked "soup ministry". |
| Want to serve? We get together on Mondays at 11:00am to prepare food and on Tuesdays at 11:30am to serve. |
| Our inspiration is Mother Teresa, “If you can’t feed the hundred, feed the one.” Our prayer is that “we, too, would be found faithful.” |
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