Beginning Days in the Soup Kitchen

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Trinity Episcopal Church
44 East Market St.
Bethlehem PA 18018-5989
610-867-4741

BEGINNING DAYS IN THE SOUP KITCHEN
by Muriel Parlin, July 2001

In 1982 there was an economic recession, and in Bethlehem we began to see unemployed persons sitting around in the downtown area, in the closed section of Broad Street between New and Guetter Streets. In addition, we became aware that people were sleeping on the loading dock of the bank building on Guetter Street, in Nisky Hill Cemetery, and under the Hill to Hill Bridge.

Since Trinity Church was located in the midst of these signs of distress, our Outreach Committee began discussing ways to help those in need. Helen Whitmore suggested a Soup Kitchen. We had precedence for such action since Trinity Church had sponsored a Soup Kitchen in the days of the Great Depression of 1932. Finally, we decided we would test the need for food by offering soup to those who congregated downtown, so Helen, Sue Cox, and Mickey Parlin raided our refrigerators and cooked up a large pot of soup in Sue's kitchen. We put it in the back of my station wagon along with a folding table, "hot cups," napkins, and plastic spoons, and slowly drove to the northeast corner of Broad and New Streets.

It was now November and very cold on that corner. There was no protection from the wind, but the parking was convenient. We set up our "Soup Kitchen" and offered hot soup to all passersby. We must have looked trustworthy because people accepted our offering with no questions asked. Shortly after we started this venture, Ginnie Gress joined us on the corner, as did the ladies of Christ Church under the leadership of Nancy Shelley. Our original idea was to offer food to our neighbors-those who lived within a mile of the church.

At the Annual Parish Meeting in January, 1983, Helen requested permission to serve in the Parish Hall. Much to our delight, the Parish voted to invite us in, out of the cold. As more people arrived for a noon meal, we decided to try to serve ever weekday by contacting other churches, requesting volunteers. The response was immediate, and we settled into the following schedule: Monday, Trinity; Tuesday, St. Andrew's; Wednesday, Christ Church; Thursday, the Methodist Church, then located on the corner of Wall and Center; and on Friday, the Quakers.

The Kitchen was supported by donation from the members of the sponsoring churches, interested community people, and those whom we fed. Eventually Sue obtained funding from a private foundation interested in the welfare of the citizens of Bethlehem. That foundation still donates to the Soup Kitchen's expenses. Our first paid coordinator was Grace Howenstine from St. Andrew's. Some of the early volunteers from Trinity Church were Irene Harding, Jean Franz, Betty Saylor, Mary Harris, Jane Teter, Jan Illick, Carolyn Currier, Shirley Quigg, Ann Edwards, Fitzi Sweet Chase, Helen Emery, Eleanor Graber, Miriam Griffing, and Dolores and Jim Caskey.

Most of the responsibility of the Kitchen fell on Sue Cox's shoulders in the beginning. She and Helen were both wonderful cooks. I was the back-up cook for emergencies and a good cleaner-upper. Our motto in the early days was from Ephesians 4, which we sometimes muttered through clenched teeth as we danced around one another in that little kitchen: "with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love" (usually expressed as just "forbearance, forbearance").

In addition to preparing, serving, and cleaning up, we also helped our guests by writing letters for them, contacting agencies, supplying directions and/or bus fare, etc. We've come to love the people whom God has sent to us and I have often felt loved in return. I feel that the Soup Kitchen is a unifying presence at Trinity and expresses the compassion of the church members for our neighbors. Occasionally, though, I still find myself muttering "forbearance, forbearance."

Trinity Episcopal Church
44 East Market St.
Bethlehem PA 18018-5989
610-867-4741