Serving Smiles and Supper at the Sunday Suppers

On October 15th, volunteers from the Halifax Chapter of HOPE worldwide Canada (HwwC) gathered at St. Andrew’s Church in downtown Halifax to serve, to spend time with and to connect with some very special “guests” in our community at the “Sunday Supper”. These Sunday Suppers take place every Sunday afternoon from 4 pm to 6 pm where different church and community groups prepare and serve a meal for our “guests”. The idea for Sunday Suppers initially came from the Gospel of Luke, in Chapter 14, verses 12 to 14, where we are asked that instead of having a banquet or a dinner for those who are rich, and can afford it; that instead let’s invite the poor, the blind, and the less fortunate who are unable to repay us. Some of the people in our community, we like to refer to them as our “guests”, that come out have been coming to Sunday Suppers for years, and we’ve noticed that some of the them sit at the same table with the same group of friends, week after week, making up their own little families. Since some of our guests have been coming out to the Sunday Suppers for so long, many of our volunteers and guests have been able to develop connections and friendships with each other--friendships that may not have come to be without the time spent together on these Sundays. Before the meal is served, there is another group of volunteers, coordinated by one of our HwwC volunteers, Cameron Taylor, that set up and operate a Foot Clinic for those who require such services. “One of the things I love about the Sunday Suppers is how I have developed a friendship with one of the female guests that I hadn’t seen in a while. Seeing her this past Sunday, seeing her smile and getting such a warm tight hug, really made me appreciate and remember how amazing it is to serve just like Jesus did…for me it’s always about seeing the smiles on their faces. As well, there’s this little girl who just has such a smile, and always says thank you, and it just warms my heart and makes you think “this is why we do what we do”; it’s about seeing their worth and not what the world sees them as.” Marie-Elle Charlemagne, HOPE worldwide Canada volunteer Thank you for all the volunteers who helped make this Sunday Supper once again, a tremendous success! The Halifax Chapter of HOPE worldwide Canada will be serving the meal again on Sunday, January 28th, 2018 – please contact Greg.Taylor@HOPEwwCanda.org if you are interested in helping out! Article written by Halifax HOPE worldwide volunteer Kiyalyn Renee Bump