OGDEN — Suzanne Miller recently addressed her small team of volunteers in the basement of Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, a historic religious gathering place on the corner of 24th Street and Grant Avenue.
The eager group sat together in the midst of several neatly set tables and chairs, listening to the director’s last-minute instructions for one of the church’s major weekly events, the Shepherd’s Bowl community lunch.
Each Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers prepare a free hot meal, complete with dessert and coffee, to about 150 low-income or homeless people. Organizers use tablecloths, china plates and proper cutlery to give the experience a more dignified, restaurant-like atmosphere.
With a warm homemade meal almost ready to be served in the nearby kitchen, Miller advised the volunteers on how to handle anything inappropriate as well as how to treat those coming in from the streets of Ogden.
“Make them feel like family because most of them don’t have family that cares a whole lot,” Miller said. “They’ll come in and say I’ve been clean for two weeks and we celebrate that. The next week they may come in stoned off their rocker, but for two weeks they were clean and that was a big, momentous occasion for them. So we try to celebrate those little occasions with them.”
The Rev. Vanessa G. Cato, one of the church’s clergy, stood apart watching the group with a satisfied smile.
“For a little church, we do a lot,” Rev. Cato said with a crisp British accent. “We encourage people to serve wherever they can. And it’s wonderful to know that we have so many people who not only serve within the church but who serve our community as well.”
The Shepherd’s Bowl community lunch is one of many service projects the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd is doing to make a difference in its community. Other Christian congregations, such as the First Baptist Church of Ogden and Mustard Seed Faith Ministries are engaged in similar projects.
Along with providing a weekly sit-down meal, the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd and its members coordinate with other faith communities and other charitable organizations to maintain a linen pantry, a food pantry and its Family Promise program, among other service activities.
For the linen pantry, the church buys new pillows and collects bedsheets, pillowcases, blankets and towels to help people coming out of homeless situations. The biggest challenge is finding good blankets, Rev. Cato said.
The Good Shepherd is one of many hosts in the Family Promise of Ogden program, which provides up to four struggling families at a time with overnight accommodations in local churches, meals, mentoring and other resources. Rev. Cato said it was “delightful” to visit with a young woman last week who had just secured a full-time job and a found better child care for her young son.
“It’s a pretty successful program and a wonderful way of helping homeless families,” she said.
Pastor Steve Tharp and members of the First Baptist Church of Ogden, located at 2519 Jefferson Ave., keep a food pantry and supply of clothing, including shoes, coats and blankets, for needy individuals and families.
During the summer, the First Baptist Church of Ogden grills hot dogs for hungry mouths, and during the winter months it’s soup and a sandwich. Congregation members Roland Fisher and Elaine Karadeema supervise and hand out little cards with images of the canned goods available in the pantry so people can circle the items they need. Donations come from the Utah Food Bank, friends and neighbors, and members of other collaborating churches such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“We ask no questions. If you’re hungry, you’re invited here,” Rev. Tharp said. “The Lord’s house is open to anyone. We basically do what Matthew 24 talks about as far as feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.”
Thanks to donations and “divine providence,” the church always has something to give, Fisher said.
“The truth of the matter is anytime we’re here, if someone comes to the door hungry, we give them food,” he said. “It’s pretty exciting. When we need something it just kind of shows up. We take that as divine providence.”
“We’ve been telling Roland to be careful what he prays for,” Rev. Tharp said with a teasing smile.
For the last two years, Pastor Juan Péna and his congregation at Mustard Seed Faith Ministries (formerly Centro de Adoracion Church) has helped hundreds of people a month through their food pantry. Unfortunately, the pantry is temporarily closed while it searches for a new location. They hope to reopen the food pantry in the coming weeks, Rev. Péna said.
“It’s hard for people to sometimes make it meal to meal. We’ve had some families come in here and say ‘Oh, we didn’t know where our next meal was going to come from.’ They cry with gratitude,” Rev. Péna said. “It’s pretty tiring, but very rewarding and fulfilling.”