3/11/2010
Local café for poor receives Rice Bowl funds
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| Local café for poor receives Rice Bowl funds |
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Faith Café, an ecumenical effort feeding the homeless and working poor in Washington County, receives support from Operation Rice Bowl.
Each Lent for decades, U.S. Catholic families have been stuffing money into the small fold-out paper bowls to support Catholic Relief Services, the overseas aid arm of the U.S. church.
Not many people know that a quarter of the funds collected stay at home to help programs that aid the needy.
At Faith Café, volunteers from many traditions — including Catholic — serve hot meals to an average of 100 guests every Sunday evening at Beaverton First United Methodist Church.
In addition to the host, congregations that carry out the project are: the Catholic parishes of Holy Trinity, St. Cecilia, St. John Fisher, St. Juan Diego, St. Pius X and St. Clare plus Cedar Mill Bible Church, Christ Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Guests are welcomed, then seated and served at tables decorated with bright tablecloths, handmade place mats and vases of flowers. After the meal, guests are invited to take canned goods and produce from local gardens.
The idea, organizers say, is to “create a safe and welcoming atmosphere that fosters a community where all feel valued and respected.”
“As we see more hunger and poverty moving to the suburbs, Faith Cafe is meeting this challenge head on,” says organizer Arnie Leppert. “With the help of Rice Bowl funds we have been able to feed many of our most needy neighbors.”
Guests and volunteers form friendships, celebrate birthdays together, and share holiday feasts.
Norm, who gives only his first name, is 94 and has been a regular guest since Faith Café opened in 2005.
“The food is so good and the people so kind that I come back every week,” he says. “The volunteers who serve the meals know that I don’t like dressing on my salad, and they know which cookies are my favorite. I have two special women that I call my angels. They like to listen to my stories and treat me like a king.”
In the Archdiocese of Portland, Operation Rice Bowl is coordinated by Catholic Charities, which works closely with Catholic Relief Services.
“The Catholic community’s response to Haiti is a great blessing and a witness to our Oregon Catholic community’s commitment to global solidarity,” says Jeanine Boucher-Colbert, a Catholic Relief Services worker from Portland. “What Oregon Catholics might not know is that CRS’ 50-year presence in Haiti was made possible by continued support that U.S. Catholics have given through programs and efforts like Operation Rice Bowl.”
Catholic Relief Services works in 100 countries providing food security and other projects to prevent the ravages of hunger. Operation Rice Bowl calls for fasting, praying, learning and giving as a means of support and solidarity.
“Through Operation Rice Bowl we can connect our brothers and sisters who are fed at places like Faith Café with the rest of our one human family around the world,” Boucher-Colbert says. “All are welcome at the table.”
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