By Earl Laman
You’ve heard of it! Hope Church has been part of its everyday mission since 1991. It operates as a coordination including Community Action House, Western Seminary (in its kitchen and Commons), and 15 churches that provide volunteers of help prepare, serve, and clean up every weekday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A brunch is served Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Healthful and filling foods and drinks have always been served through the years, but the past year Felicia Thompson, a social worker and certified cook who grew up on the south side of Chicago, has led the way to the best in nutrition, fulfillment, food quality, and variety!
Through years we serve a wide variety of people in need of good food, but more recently the 100 to 200 people served daily are mostly people in the “margin” with many basic limitations and needs. The are served much more than a “soup kitchen” could.
The hands and heart of those who have served this past year on Hope Church days as a regular or back-up person are: Barbara Bouma, Dave Schmitt, Gerry Van Heest, Linda McFadden, Barbara and Dan Joldersma, Marilee and Milt Nieuwsma, Cherie Versendaal, Earl Laman, Barb Schmitt, Lisa Denison, Sue Newton, Janet Elzinga, Sharon Arendshorst, John Tysse, Bert Duinkerken, and Rhonda Edgington.