Free Meal Program Opens in Milwaukee
Episcopal News Service. March 4, 1982 [82062]
MILWAUKEE, Wisc. (DPS, March 4) -- "The Gathering at St. James" is the name of the newest ministry with the needy in the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee. The volunteer-run free meal program got into gear recently when the Rt. Rev. Charles T. Gaskell, bishop of Milwaukee, visited the historic downtown Church to bless the program and the workers and to remind them that Jesus' mission was to minister to the suffering, friendless and needy.
"The Gathering" is the mutual brain-child of the Rev. Canon Michael Stolpman, canon to the bishop of Milwaukee and the Very Rev. Charles Lynch, rector of St. James Church on Wisconsin Avenue.
The idea of operating a meal program had been building in the minds of both priests for some time out of their concern over the increasing number of poor and elderly who were unable to get a daily hot meal on their own. Several inner city Churches were providing food on weekday and Sunday evenings, but until "The Gathering at St. James" opened its doors, nothing was available on Saturday.
Lynch and Stolpman began the project after consulting with members of various parishes from around the metropolitan area and soliciting financial and volunteer support. They got workers and contributions, and with some paint and elbow grease whipped the kitchen facilities at St. James into shape. The health authorities gave their stamp of approval and the weekly soup and sandwich program was off the ground. Despite the lowest temperatures in the recorded weather-history of the city, the response from both volunteers and guests confirmed the urgent need for such a program. The guests flooded into St. James' dining room from all over the downtown and Marquette University area.
One elderly man walked 20 blocks for some warm food on what was then the coldest morning of the winter season. He was about an hour and a half early, so he sat sipping coffee and reading until the kitchen officially opened. The man said that he had no job and no income and was a regular at one of the dining halls a few blocks away.
A woman about the same age appeared a short time later and took a place at the table. She was part of a crowd -- mostly men and older folks, a few blacks and Hispanics. Many needed shaves, baths or warm clothing. A number had neither hats nor gloves, although the wind-chill index on opening day was 53 degrees below zero. A handful of young children were guests along with their parents.
And there were several youths in the kitchen, along with a mixture of people of various ages from parishes around the city. Although "The Gathering" is sponsored by St. James Church, it receives financial support from the Diocese of Milwaukee and various individuals and parishes in the Milwaukee area. These same resources provide the volunteer help which prepares and serves the food each Saturday. Gaskell and the diocesan executive board cooperated by naming "The Gathering" as one of the recipients of Venture in Mission hunger funds. Martha Minnich from Christ Church in Whitefish Bay is the program coordinator; and Kathy Stolpman, Canon's Stolpman's wife, handles scheduling volunteers. The only complaint from the volunteers is that they cannot be asked back to serve at "The Gathering at St. James" for four or five months. The food-for-the-hungry program opened in January but the volunteer schedule filled up through June immediately.
St. James Church is located on the west side of downtown Milwaukee, a block from the campus of Marquette University. According to Lynch, "The Gathering" joins the varied ministries already sponsored by the parish: the deaf mission for the diocese, the university church for Episcopalians, the court chaplain's office and an on-going ministry to transients and street people. St. James Church is located on the city's Court of Honour, and serves a highly diversified congregation drawn from the far reaches of the city.