Service Blitz
“Notable, Anointed” Ninth Episcopal District YPD
and
the Salvation Army
Reported by Ida Tyree Hyche, J.D.
Episcopal Director, Young People’s Division
“I thought the experience would be frightening or boring, but I enjoyed the opportunity to share my time and help feed the homeless,” says Christina, a YPDer from the North Alabama Conference at the Ninth Episcopal District Young People’s Division’s Souper Bowl of Caring service blitz during Founders’ Day in Montgomery, Alabama. Donned in Souper Bowl of Caring T-Shirts, approximately 27 YPDers and directors throughout six conferences worked in shifts, 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., to prepare food, clean pantries, organize storage rooms and sanitize the dining facility at the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen in the Capital city of Montgomery in keeping with the Souper Bowl of Caring initiative for Super Bowl Sunday.
Under the leadership of Mrs. Mary L. Kirkland, Episcopal WMS Supervisor and the Right Reverend T. Larry Kirkland, Presiding Prelate, YPDers exercised free energy to make the annual Founders’ Day event one of service to others. The idea grew from the YPD leadership-training seminar in December during the annual Episcopal WMS Convention. Mrs. Valerie Wright, Mrs. Glenda Skipper and several YPD directors suggested an Episcopal Souper Bowl of Caring service blitz since our Founders’ Day would be observed on Super Bowl weekend. An idea became a plan worked by Mrs. Wright. A plan became organized and implemented on Saturday, February 5th.
The team cooked food, fed and served 55 homeless persons during breakfast and 75 homeless persons during lunch. We also prepared the dinner meal and cleaned the area for the dinner shift.
On Souper Bowl of Caring Sunday, conference YPD directors reported total contributions raised by local church YPD organizations for their favorite charities. This year, by midnight on Super Bowl Sunday, the Ninth Episcopal District YPD reported $7,680.56 given to our favorite charities. Some of those charities included Greater Birmingham Ministries, Inc, Sickle Cell Foundation, HIV/AIDs in Minorities, The Clearinghouse, daycare centers, reading programs, etc.
When the second shift of YPDers gathered around the Salvation Army employee to give thanks for the opportunity to serve, I knew the experience had a favorable impact when an Alabama Conference YPDer said, “I really enjoyed serving today. I go to the Boys and Girls Club three days a week across the street. I want to know if I can come volunteer sometime during the week when I get out of school?”
I whispered, “Praise God! We reached one!”
A Brief History of the Souper Bowl of Caring
[from souperbowl.org]
A simple prayer: "Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat" is inspiring a youth-led movement to help hungry and hurting people around the world.
This prayer, delivered by Brad Smith, then a seminary intern serving at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, gave birth to an idea. Why not ask parishioners to give one dollar each for the needy as they leave worship on Super Bowl Sunday? Young people could receive the donations then send every dollar DIRECTLY to the charity of their choice. Participants would only be asked to report their results so that the totals could be determined
The senior high youth of Spring Valley Presbyterian liked the idea so much they decided to invite other area churches to join the team. Twenty-two Columbia churches participated that first year, sending $5,700 to area ministries that help needy people. That was 1990. The effort went statewide in 1991 and national in 1993.
In 2004, First Lady Laura Bush joined over 100 young people at the Capital Area Food Bank to kick-off the national campaign. The results: young people in over 12,700 congregations and schools put God's love in action, generating $4.2 million to help hungry and hurting people. In addition, 15,700 young people across the country youth participated in the Service Blitz, serving hands-on the Saturday before the big game at the charity their group supports.
Since the Souper Bowl's inception, ordinary young people have, with God’s help, generated an extraordinary aggregate of $24 million for soup kitchens, food banks and other charities in communities across the country. In addition, tens of thousands of youth have learned that God can use them to make a difference in the lives of others.
What is the Souper Bowl of Caring? Some will call it simplistic or naïve or just a bunch of kids trying to do good. For others, it s a modern day version of the parable of the mustard seed or a living example of the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6. Whatever people may choose to call it, the Souper Bowl of Caring is yet another inbreaking of the amazing grace of our loving Lord.
