Photo essay documents Bethel Church major mission project
Everyone lends a hand making 300 sandwiches in an assembly line. Photo credit: Jim Hodel.
by Sara Swanson
Manchester’s James Hodel recently created a beautiful photo essay documenting a major mission project of Bethel Church. The photo essay can be viewed in its entirety here: Feeding the Homeless-The NOAH Project -Final copy.
Bethel United Church of Christ is one of about two dozen southeast Michigan churches that support Detroit's NOAH (Networking Organization Advocating for the Homeless) Project in its mission of providing lunches to the homeless in Detroit 4 days a week. Bethel provides a lunch for 300 about once a month.
The photo essay shows what goes on behind the scenes to make that happen:
Work starts a week before the delivery is to be made. A small team shops for ingredients and collects food donations from church members.
On Saturday a small group sets up food production in the fellowship hall. After Sunday service, approximately 30 congregants gather in the hall to make sandwiches, bag cookies and snacks, and working on whatever other food preparation needs to occur. Sandwiches are put together in assembly-line style by the church members. If the lunch is going to include hot foods, food prep may continue on Monday.
The lunches are usually delivered on Tuesday. Early that morning, hot food is warmed and packaged for transport. The delivery cars are parked in loading position outside of Bethel's fellowship hall and loaded up, and driven to Detroit by Bethel volunteers.
A NOAH staff member meets to volunteers and helps move the lunches upstairs to the second floor. The food is unpacked and made ready for distribution. At 10:30am, everyone in need of a lunch that day lines up, signs in and lunch service begins. Of the 300 lunches, about half will be served there. The remainder will be shared with shelters and community outreach volunteers bringing food to the people.
The Bethel volunteers then return to Manchester and get ready for next month!
Adults and children pitch in to bag cookies for each individual lunch. Photo credit: Jim Hodel.
Because the weather has been cold, church members decided to include hot chili as part of their February food offering. Hot soup was part of their April food offering. Photo credit: Jim Hodel.
Room temperature and cold food and loaded first with hot foods loaded last. Photo credit: Jim Hodel.
Bethel volunteers unloading in NOAH parking lot in Detroit. Photo credit: Jim Hodel.
Everyone is given the option of what items they would prefer. Photo credit: Jim Hodel.
Hot soup is an option along with the usual bagged lunches. Photo credit: Jim Hodel.
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