8th Graders Serve at the Cathedral Kitchen

Why did God make the homeless? That, we do not have the answer to. But, we do know how to help them and how to serve them. There is a kitchen in downtown Indianapolis called the Cathedral Soup Kitchen. Recently, I got to serve at this kitchen. Getting to serve the homeless was the greatest experience of my life.

I wonder why it was mostly African American Men whom we served. Is it because people are racist? No one wants to give a black man a job? I wonder why if that is the case. One guy spoke to me and said, 'Be lucky you still live at home and don't have to make money on your own cuz I gots to go to work til 10:00 PM.' I wondered if he had a family at home to support.

One of the people who helps run the kitchen, Marjie, led us in prayer before we served the meal. She prayed for a homeless person who had been in several times, but recently died.

The kitchen was not new. It was old and small. There was an "L" shaped bar and about 12 little tables, and about 150-200 people to serve. It was very crowded and not a lot of room to walk behind the bar. They had options for food. Food included PBJ's, salad, oatmeal, cereal, donuts, cornbread, garlic bread, soup and chicken. The salad went very quickly! Some would find serving in the kitchen to be overwhelming. I didn't think so. I thought the pace was just right...not too fast nor too slow.

One of the homeless guys sang a prayer. It was great. Everyone was asked to stop eating during prayer. Many could not help themselves...they were to hungry to stop eating. After everyone had been served, Mrs. Buckley and I washed the tables. Everyone was nice about everything.
(Elizabeth G.)

The Soup Kitchen was really overwhelming. It was also eye opening...seeing people who didn't have a home or food...My job was to serve the juice. I would love to have the opportunity to serve again at the kitchen.
(Christian L.)

Going to the soup kitchen was an important experience to go through. It showed me what people go through that I don't go through. It made me happy that God blessed me with such a good life. I liked performing this act of kindness because it felt good giving back to Indianapolis. It was almost like a wake-up call...telling me that these problems are real and won't go away without the world's help.

The people who came to the soup kitchen for food were no different than anyone else but the fact that they were hungry. Going to the soup kitchen motivated me to try harder in school and anything I do in general because I don't want to be in their position. I'd rather be in a nice home with a good job than worrying whether or not I will be able to eat or not today.

It was a great experience and a way for me to experience the practice of almsgiving. I hope in the future I will be able to do more service projects like this one. In this way I will be building the Kingdom of God.
(J.C.E)