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St. Paul's Soup Kitchen and First Parish Church: A History
Since 1985, volunteers from First Parish Church have prepared food and traveled to St. Paul's Soup Kitchen in Brockton on the fourth Saturday of each month from September through May. In recent years, First Parish volunteers have also traveled to the Soup Kitchen during the summer months.
The oldest record of volunteers is for May 25, 1985. That day, eighteen First Parish members and friends prepared casseroles and nine prepared desserts. Seven traveled to St. Paul's, including Betsy Bayer who started the program at First Parish and served as our Soup Kitchen coordinator for many years.
St. Paul's Soup Kitchen was launched in 1981. During its first decade, the Soup Kitchen served between 100 and 200 meals daily, six days a week, under the strong leadership of the efficient and indefatigable
Alma Devine. Once each month our volunteers would transport fifteen or sixteen casseroles and desserts prepared by First Parish members and friends to Brockton. At noon, the doors were opened and people poured in. Tables were set to accommodate over sixty people at a time. The casserole was served on one plate, the salad on another and when guests were finished with their meal, volunteers served dessert on yet another plate. Beverages were, of course, also served separately. Guests came and went at will for two to two and a-half-hours. While it was well-organized, it was indeed a work out, very different from today's sedate, orderly process.
These days, we serve each meal on a single tray containing the entree, salad, and dessert. Meals are served to 24 people at a time at four seatings, a half an hour apart, beginning at noon. There are many more guests on weekdays when
Grace Bruce runs the Soup Kitchen.
Grace, like her predecessors, is quite remarkable. She sometimes single-handedly prepares the mid-day meal for over one hundred guests. She is an energetic, efficient, no-nonsense individual who is much loved by the guests. First Parish members and friends who are able to do so are urged to visit the Soup Kitchen on other days, besides our customary Saturdays. Our Soup Kitchen Saturdays were coordinated for many years by
Betsy Bayer. She was succeeded in that role by Luz and David
Gleicher. After the Gleicher's moved away, the Social Responsibility Committee took over until the 1999-2000 church year when
Charles Savicki, a Duxbury High School senior, served as coordinator. He was succeeded by another First Parish high school student,
Emma Stanton, in 2000. Emma served as our Soup Kitchen coordinator for two years and introduced salads to the fare prepared by First Parish members and friends.
Emma was succeeded by Anna Snoeyenbos who also served as coordinator for two years, along with
Ember Fleming and Matt Pelham. Anna introduced the idea of going to the St. Paul's year round. In the fall of 2004, because Matt and Ember had schedule conflicts with our Soup Kitchen Saturdays, Matt's younger sister
Kelly stepped in. Kelly has served as coordinator the entire church year for which we are extremely grateful.
St. Paul's Soup Kitchen is perhaps the premier volunteer opportunity in First Parish history. Quite possibly, more First Parish members and friends have participated in this worthy effort than any other single outreach program in our Church's history, although the Box Project is gaining ground fast.
The Social Responsibility Committee believes the Soup Kitchen provides a wonderful opportunity to make a difference, particularly for our youth. We hope Kelly will continue with the Soup Kitchen but we know she is looking for another partner. Since Kelly is too young to drive, her parents are also hoping that other adults will share the responsibility for transporting volunteers and food. St. Paul's Church provides a critical service to the community. We look forward to a continuation of the team effort that has done so much for the people of Brockton and for the many First Parish Church members and friends who have participated in this worthwhile endeavor over the years.
Prepared by Donna Savicki with help from Betsy Bayer
January 20, 2002
Created March 16, 2002 Updated April 17, 2005
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