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PINE BLUFF — A bowl of soup for lunch isn’t much to get excited about, especially a couple of days after the culinary tsunami of Thanksgiving dinner. Unless, of course, you happen to be one of the people who finds their way to the St. Peter Church soup kitchen in Pine Bluff.
For the hungry and hosts alike, this new venture feeds the community in more ways than one.
“This means I don’t have to get along with no food until Sunday,” said Rose Ray, in between bites of hot soup and a sandwich. “I’m normally a nervous person around new people, but this is good. The people are friendly.”
“This is a way of doing God’s work,” said fellow diner Vernon Kentile, softly. “The meal’s what’s important, but I wouldn’t even mind if they preached to us a little bit.”
The Nov. 30 turnout, just the second installment of the ministry, was lighter than expected, something members of the parish committee who ladle up soup and share a smile expect will change as word gets around and the weather turns colder. But no one’s really keeping score, least of all pastor Father Anil Thomas, SVD, who came up with the idea after meeting some hungry people wandering near the 100-year-old church grounds.
Talking to them, Father Thomas asked if there was any place they could get something to eat, knowing there were local agencies that fed the homeless in town.
“They said not on Saturday,” he said. “This gave me the idea.”
Father Thomas bought the group some hamburgers, but the seed had been planted for something much bigger, so much so that it met with skepticism when he first started shopping the idea around. Besides the usual logistical and staffing issues, it was articulated that it would just be a free lunch for people who somehow weren’t authentically hungry. Father Thomas held his ground.
“If we fed 30 people and 29 didn’t really need it and there’s one who did, that’s why we are here, for that one,” he said, as people started to come through the door.
“Come on in! Come get something to eat!” cries out volunteer Thelma Jones to a person hesitating in the doorway.
“A lot of those vegetables came right out of our garden,” said Katie Montroy to another, digging to the bottom of the caldron to ensure the guest gets a dose of carrots and corn. “Enjoy.”
Nearby, Katie’s husband John leans in and said, “Tell your readers if they are thinking about doing something like this and they haven’t yet, they are missing out on a whole lot of fun.”
The Montroys come to this activity like ducks to a pond. John is retired from the restaurant and food business, and Katie is involved in other outreach ministries. Both consider the soup kitchen a way to reflect to others the deep sense of welcome they received when they stumbled onto St. Peter Church five years ago.
This palpable camaraderie permeates the group of volunteers, starting with chairwoman Sandra Martin who returned to her native Pine Bluff after more than 20 years in the Army, including a stint in Haiti where she met and worked with local missionaries. Here, she coordinates the volunteers who cook and those who serve along with foodstuffs donated from local relief agencies or that just show up on their doorstep.
“Being around the missionaries in Haiti humbled me,” she said. “Anyone that does charity work knows giving is such a reward.”
Not far away, Melvin “J.J.” Jones works his cell phone calling people in the neighborhood and parishioners, urging them to bring their hungry neighbors out for a meal. The Vietnam vet also grew up in Pine Bluff and expressed pride in the way St. Peter Parish was paving the way for change in his hometown.
“When I came back to Pine Bluff in 1995, things weren’t too good then,” he said. “We’re showing the mayor and the police chief and the sheriff that we’re involved and that’s a wonderful thing. We’re trying to help them clean up the place. This is a stepping stone to where they are trying to get.”
Organizers are looking forward to operating the kitchen weekly, particularly since Martin has been inundated with calls from church, civic and college organizations looking to provide volunteer support. For more information or to get involved, call the church office at (870) 534-6418.
