As part of his study, Wil Courter got to know some of our Hot Dish & Hope guests. Wil shares some of what he learned here.
If you’d like to add your name to the volunteer list for Hot Dish & Hope's Tuesday or Thursday night meals for the hungry and homeless, please contact Sheron Sumner, 292-9366, or Cheryl Crago, 605-0650 or use this form.
HDH began collecting clothing for adults: coats, hats, gloves, scarves, warm shirts/pants, socks, walking shoes, small, folding umbrellas.
Donations will be received at Paisley House on Greene Street 8:30-9:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Sundays and 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesdays. We need volunteers to take donations, sort clothing and match it with our dinner and shelter guests. Contact Pam Murphy at 282-3240 or divap@triad.rr.com.
Keep up with what's going on at Hot Dish & Hope through its blog.
By Wil Courter
First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro has many ministries that help people both inside and outside of our church. I am going to take this space to tell the reader about just one of these ministries: “Hot Dish and Hope on Greene Street.”
I would like to share with you how this ministry got started and how it has evolved. I would like you to know about the additional ministries that grew from this HD&H effort. I am not going to name any of the many, many HD&H volunteers who have and continue to work together so well to make this ministry a huge success, as I might just omit someone in error who is just as important as the others who have done great things of which I am not aware.
Finally, I would like to introduce the reader to just a few of the many fascinating guests who join us for these Tuesday and Thursday evening events. I will reveal some of the things they have agreed to share with me (for publication) about their lives and how they happened to be with us now. A few of these folks were guests of our emergency Winter Shelter mission, and a few are now attending our “Rejoice!” service each Sunday. You will be introduced to a TV star, a man living under a bridge with his cat, a man who worked on a US nuclear missile submarine and speaks nine languages, a truck driver who was penalized for an accident that was not his fault, a single mother with two boys and two girls to care for, a lady who has died twice so far, folks who were car thieves and drug dealers in the past, and more.
As I sit hear typing this story, my stomach is grumbling – I realize that I am hungry once again. But this does not concern me at all. I can stop typing any time I choose and find the food I want – either by raiding the refrigerator or hopping in the car for a short drive to one of many places willing to give me almost any food I would like – in exchange for some folding currency or the swipe of my credit card through their machine. Thus I will keep on typing, comforted in the knowledge that my hunger will last only as long as I choose to let it.
Let’s think together for a moment what it must be like for folks who are not so sure that food will be available to them (nor perhaps to their children) anytime soon. Once they experience hunger pangs, they need to begin making a plan as to how they will (they hope) get food in time to satisfy their needs and keep them going and healthy. That plan might include a long walk, perhaps in the rain or snow, to somewhere where they believe they can find food – from a friend, from a shelter, from a church, or even from a trash bin.
It may not be the food they really wanted or would have chosen, but if it is edible and available at least they can eat it and move on – until hunger overtakes them again and they need to make the next plan to get food. Just looking for food two or three times a day consumes a lot of their time and effort, leaving little energy for the other things they must do to take care of themselves and make life better for them and those with them, perhaps their children.
FPC is a “downtown” church, and as such we are within walking distance of many places where disadvantaged and/or homeless people find places to stay at night. FPC has a fantastic kitchen facility and space in our Mullin Life Center to set up tables and chairs for dining. And FPC has members who are concerned about the lives and welfare of people who have less than we have who walk our streets day and night - both their physical and their spiritual welfare.
Our faith implores us to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Thus we who serve are honoring our God and growing in our faith as disciples. Therefore, we are the ideal solution and the right people to provide help to at least some of the people in our city who need our help and are willing to come to us when we offer that help.
As with most missions of faith, somehow seeds are planted in the minds of good people and they begin to talk with each other about what is needed in our world and how we can help satisfy those needs. More good people respond to the call for help once they realize what is needed, what is possible, and how they can be a part of the solution.
After months of talking and prayerful consideration, a plan was presented to our Session members and it was approved in April of 2008. Final planning and recruitment of volunteers then began, with the doors opening for the first HD&H meal on Tuesday, July 8, 2008.
It took a few weeks for the word to get around, but soon we were welcoming an average of over 100 people per week for HD&H meals on Tuesdays. Our highest guest attendance to date has been 160 hungry people. We just never know how many will show up on a particular night.
Over time we learned from our guests that they could get evening meals at various locations around town most nights of the week, with the exception of Thursdays. We spread the word about meals being needed on Thursdays, and more volunteers stepped up to help. We began serving two meals per week on Thursday, March 12, 2009. We now average 80-90 people attending on Thursday evenings.
FPC members host this HD&H ministry in our spaces, but numerous other faith community volunteer “partners” have joined in to do the work. We started this ministry in 2008 with help from “partner” members from Anderson Grove Baptist Church, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, and New Creation Community Presbyterian Church. In 2009 we were joined by folks from Guilford Park Presbyterian Church, West Market Street United Methodist Church, Memorial Presbyterian Church, and the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood. All of our volunteers learn as they go, and we encourage each other to consider setting up similar ministries when and where needed.
Besides volunteers from these HD&H partner churches, we have occasional help from members of the following faith communities: Grace Community Church, Jamestown Presbyterian Church, Buffalo Presbyterian Church, Cathedral of Praise, St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, Westover Church, UNCG Campus Ministry, Church of the Redeemer, Jamestown United Methodist Church, and Gate City Vineyard.
We also have had help from volunteers representing these groups: Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, a nursing group from GTCC, Elon University students, Kids Disciple Club, Greensboro Day School, Confirmation youth from several churches, Bible study groups, Vacation Bible School youth, and others. We now have over 500 names in our HD&H data base, representing those who have provided hands-on help to date, and many of these come back to help again whenever requested. In addition to these folks, we have an additional 200 names of folks who helped in some way with our emergency Winter Shelter ministry (Dec. 15, 2008 to April 1, 2009) when we hosted about 20 men each night in the old scout room of our church, complete with providing evening meals and breakfasts. My son and his teenage daughter from Wilmington have helped several times with HD&H when they were here visiting with us. The more people experience what is possible, and how much the help we give is so appreciated, the more we can encourage others to spread such help around the world.
In the past year the many HD&H volunteers have discovered other related needs and responded to them. We have ongoing fall and spring “Beyond the Table” classes teaching about the many needs of the homeless, attended by over 80 folks to date. We started and staffed the extremely successful emergency Winter Shelter we hosted in our church as noted above. We were able to help some of the folks from this Winter Shelter find a more permanent place to live after the shelter closed on April 1st, 2009 and until next winter.
We collected winter and other clothing which we gave to those in need during the HD&H evenings. We offered holiday honor cards for sale that helped to fund these efforts. There is now a Work Mentor Program with Housing Greensboro ongoing. There are Hope Teams for Partners Ending Homelessness. We chose the book “Same Kind of Different as Me” and had a book study with about 30 folks involved.
And, naturally, none of this exists without folks helping with the costs involved. We have received about $50,000 to date in support of these ministries, which included about $10,000 pledged by our partner houses of worship. Gifts of money must continue to keep these ministries alive and well at FPC.
Our HD&H doors are open to anyone willing to come to our church during our Tuesday and Thursday program and meal times. We know that we serve people who are homeless, unemployed, under-employed, single people, married people, and children. Our Interfaith Hospitality families staying a week at a time in our church attend these nights.
Our emergency Winter Shelter guests also had meals here these two nights each week. We have met guests from Sanctuary House, Center of Hope, Housing First, Joseph’s House, Hannah’s Haven, and Mental Health Recovery programs. All are welcome who are hungry, both for spiritual support and a hot meal.
The HD&H ministry on Tuesdays and Thursdays includes not just providing a good hot meal to all who arrive hungry and in need, but also a time before the meal of uniting in the praise of God through music, song, Bible passages, and brief words about the need for and benefits of faith communities. Many guests let us know they are Christians, but we also hear from some Jews and Muslims.
The talks before dinner are often punctuated by the guests saying such as “Thank You, Jesus”, “Amen”, and “Right On”. We recognize birthdays of those with us that evening. We accept and watch over bicycles and other belongings inside of the church for the guests. We have greeters who provide cups of water while the early guests wait for the church doors to open. Meanwhile, some volunteers prepare the tables and assemble in the kitchen to put food on the plates for later delivery to each person at each table.
Other folks are putting cups with ice on the tables. We who volunteer gather in a circle for some final instructions and words of prayer before the doors are opened for our guests to enter. We also move slowly among the empty tables, stopping here and there to pray for the guests that will occupy these chairs a few moments from then. The doors are opened, and the guests stream in, being greeted by our volunteers and being offered a squirt of liquid hand sanitizer before they take their seats. Volunteers with drink pitchers rush to the tables, asking what each person would like. Most of the guests seem to prefer lemonade rather than ice tea or water with their meals, and volunteers run between tables filling the cups many times.
The music for the evening begins, and soon the “Hope” part of the evening is under way. The food is then blessed by prayer, and many volunteers carry trays to the tables, with five food-laden plates per tray to be served. The deserts are passed around sometime later. A special play area for the children keeps them occupied until it is time to eat. Then they may sit at one special table just for children (and a few volunteers) or with their parent(s) at the other tables. Yes, children go hungry, too, and get food wherever they can – sometimes with us.
For three weeks (6 dinners) I gave up my usual volunteer duties and have been sitting on the sidelines, watching our volunteers and guests carefully so that I could make some general observations. Below are some things that I have noticed. Other observers might possibly remember other things, but these are what I have noticed:
(1) There are about 20-24 volunteers working each night, and they move about fast and efficiently, always with smiles and kind words as they interact with our guests and each other. Meals are served as fast as possible after the blessing prayer has ended. Drink cups are refilled many times.
(2) The guests are impatient, and they watch with hungry eyes as other tables are served before their table gets their plates full of food. They do not take their eyes off the volunteers until they are handed a plate. I think they fear the food might run out before it gets to them. They never fail to thank you for everything you give them or do for them.
(3) The menu varies greatly from night to night. It almost always includes a meat, a starch, and various vegetables plus bread in one form or another. We do not serve pork since according to their faith traditions it should not be eaten by our Jewish and Muslim guests. The deserts include cake, pie, cobbler, cookies, and other goodies that the guests sometimes wrap up and save for later after they leave the church.
(4) Men make up about 90 percent of the guests. Women and children make up the remaining 10%. People of color and Hispanics make up about 80 percent of the crowd; Caucasians account for about 20 percent. About half of the men ware some kind of head covering – mostly baseball caps. About 20 percent of the men have beards.
(5) The guests sit at tables with 7 people total. Some folks return night after night, but others are more hit-and-miss; there are always a few new faces in the crowd no matter which night you are there. The races are well mixed at these tables, and the women are at various tables rather than all sitting together. The children are mostly off at a separate table talking with our volunteers as they eat.
(6) Before the eating begins (and again after it ends) I hear lots of laughter and see many smiles among the guests. And many times they touch each other when they talk with each other, or just offer a “high 5” or slap on the back or arm as they come close. I believe many of them are longing for more human contact, and this is one safe place where they can satisfy that need. The guests and volunteer interact the same way with each other – lots of reassuring smiles, laughs, touching, slaps, hugs, and such. Almost every guest is very emphatic in saying some version of “thank you” and “bless you” for everything we give to them. We get to know some of the guests who are regulars, and we always have more to say to them when we reconnect. But there are always a few folks who remain quiet and lost in their own thoughts as they eat and then quickly leave into the night.
(7) We have had remarkably few “problems” caused by our guests. We have had to turn away one or two because of obvious drunkenness or drug stupors, and a fight occurred outside of the church one evening, but we find that if someone gets too loud or argumentative the other guests will jump in to put the offender in his or her place before we need to take any action.
(8) As their hunger pangs are vanquished, our guests begin to slow down their eating and kick back for some conversation with those at their table and their servers. Some eat and exit fast, as they have places to go or things to do. Others like to hang around to socialize. Various volunteers sit with them to talk for awhile before they depart. You hear them asking about this person, and that person, trying to keep track of others they know who spend their lives on the streets. They also provide tales of strangers or old friends who have helped them that week in a variety of ways – people who have given them food, drink, clothing, shoes, blankets, backpacks, a ride somewhere, and many other things that they need. They also talk of both the safe and the dangerous places to spend their nights outside. They talk about how pesky the mosquitoes are this time of year. Some wrap up leftovers and take them along as they exit. There are virtually no leftovers to be found and cleaned up after they all leave. They are very neat and never leave a mess.
(9) As the guests leave they offer many versions of “thank you” to any of the volunteers near them. Some must walk back to Urban Ministries or some other place of shelter before the doors are locked for the night. Others need to find or return to a safe place for the night; in the woods, in a park, behind a building, in a doorway, or under a bridge before they can prepare to sleep that night.
This HD&H ministry is a joy to behold. I don’t know who gets more rewards from this effort, the guests or the volunteers. We have learned many things about the homeless and underprivileged folks who are all around us. We are concerned about their welfare. Now we look for them as we drive around town. Now we know they are persons, not just part of the landscape. We have made some great friends, and we believe we have seen God in action through God’s people. The funding gifts and the volunteers keep this mission outreach going, but the blessings flow in all directions. It makes us feel proud of our church of growing disciples and what we can do when we come together to practice what we preach. If you want to become a part of this mission, we will welcome you with open arms. Let’s all look for opportunities to demonstrate to the world that our Christian faith is more than just good words and folks gathered together inside the walls of a church.
