Shared Blessings Community Meal

My name is Joey Klinger. I am currently serving as the intern at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion in Center City Philadelphia. I am in training to become a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I have only been an intern at LCHC (Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion) for about 4 months. I have witnessed some amazing outreach here at this Church which is truly trying to live into its mission of being in the city for good. One program, however, that truly helps people is the Shared Blessings Community Meal. In the slideshow above you can read some testimonials from those who are patrons of our meal.

This is a meal that is served every Friday and all are welcome to attend. It is a meal that helps feed the most vulnerable in the city of Philadelphia. Those who have no homes, or who have no income to eat. The shared blessings meal usually serves anywhere between 70 to 120 people a week. This means as a conservative estimate, we serve over 3,500 meals a year to those in need. It is truly an amazing ministry that helps the church live out the mission of the Gospel and helps those in need in a tangible and physical way. This meal got started because there were hungry at our doors. People coming to the church asking for food. Although we already had a food bank program we recognized that we needed to do more and started this meal. We never want to have to turn the hungry away. The program has now been running for over 5 years, and we will continue to feed all those who come to our doors.

We are looking to help to continue fund this ministry for the coming year. It should be noted, we are not interested in proselytizing or converting. Anyone and Everyone is welcome at our Shared Blessings Meal and there is no required worship or bible study. Our church has seen a desperate need in our community and we are working to fill it. With your tax deductible donation, we can begin to fund this ministry for another year. If we meet our goal we will then be able to expand that program. We have been exploring options of holding another meal on another day, or being able to offer more carry out options that people could take to those who may not feel comfortable coming in the church.

We at Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion through the Shared Blessings Community Meal, as well as all our other ministries are trying to help those in need and show that there is love in the world. Some of those other programs and ministries include a food cupboard, the Welcome Church (A Church without walls for those living without walls), OurCloset clothing distribution, and a home for AA and SL-AA. I have witnessed, personally, the amazing work this church does. It would be amazing to be able to get the funds to continue to grow the Shared Blessings Community Meal in the heart of the city of Philadelphia. This is a community meal and we are looking to our community to help us support this vital program. Please help us do that by either donating to our cause or just sharing it on your own Facebook page or Twitter. If you would like to know more about LCHC you can find more information on our website at www.lc-hc.org.