Christian Education: Souper Bowl of Caring
Providence has a spiritual gift of service. Dr. Bragan made mention of it in the past week’s sermon when he talked about 1st Corinthians 12. Providence has years of mission work with Habitat of Humanity and most recently the mission work with Holy Casseroley. I understand that there could be a need for a second freezer soon.
There are two Greek words for the spiritual gift of service. “Diakonia” found in Romans 12 means to “wait tables” but is often translated as “ministry”. The second word “Antipepsis” from 1st Corinthians 12 translates to “helping”. If is often thought to have a similar meaning of “to help or aid in love within the community.” Providence Presbyterian Church has a strong tradition of ministry to the community.
There is another opportunity coming up for Providence to share its spiritual gift with the community. Providence Youth Group will participate in this year’s Souper Bowl of Caring on February 13, 2022, which is Super Bowl Sunday. The Souper Bowl of Caring Tackle Hunger project is in its 32nd year and started here in Columbia, SC. It is now a national and international initiative to fight hunger.
In 1990, 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" was delivered to a small youth group at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, led by Brad Smith, who was serving as a seminary intern at the time.
This gave birth to an idea. Why not harness the energy and enthusiasm of Super Bowl weekend, a time when people come together for football, food and fun, to unite the nation for a higher good? Individuals and groups could collect dollars in soup pots and canned food for those in need and send every dollar and food donation DIRECTLY to a local charity of THEIR choice.
The first year, they invited 22 area churches to join the team and collected $5,700 with 100% of donations distributed to local-area charities.
That was 1990. Since then, Souper Bowl of Caring has become a national, grass-roots, youth-inspired movement where ordinary people are doing extraordinary good. Over $170 MILLION in dollars and food has been generated while benefiting thousands of soup kitchens, food banks, meal programs and other hunger-relief charities in local communities.
Thousands of participants including churches, schools, youth groups, community partners, grocery partners, local businesses, media partners, NFL teams and passionate individuals have experienced for themselves the joy and satisfaction of giving, serving and inspiring people across the country to follow their generous example. History referenced from https://tacklehunger.org/about-us/our-history
On February 13th the youth group will be taking up a collection of money along with canned goods. In addition to this the youth group will going out into the community for a Door to Door Campaign asking for food donations. This is very similar to the Cub Scouts program of Scouting for Food. If you think your neighborhood would be willing to participate in this project please email rosiesolid@gmail and let me know. All of the monies and food donated to Providence’s efforts will be given to God’s Helping Hands Ministry located in Cayce, SC.
Blessings to you and your family,
Rosie Robinson