Our Community Responds to a Crisis--a Flood in the Karpos/Soup Kitchen Facilities at St. Mary's Painesville

About one week ago, Kathy Philipps was at John Carroll University, where she teaches Theology. She got an urgent call saying that a pipe broke in an old facility above the Karpos supply room at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio. The Karpos Ministry, co-founded by Kathy Philipps and Greg Stovicek, feeds the homeless and hungry at St. Mary's every Wednesday and Thursday. It has done this for almost 6 years now, often feeding 100-150 per day. This has been done in perfect spring and summer weather and in the bitterest of cold rain storms, blizzards, and below zero weather.

The broken pipe was on an upper level, an unused part of the Fr. Hanso Center. But the water seeped through the ceiling, causing thousands of dollars of damage to the building, all the food preparation supplies, equipment, and machines, and to much of the food.

The call went out to the many Karpos volunteers and even to the homeless and hungry people Karpos feeds. These folks rallied and worked together to get the Karpos Ministry going again. It was an absolutely remarkable effort, sometimes involving 15-20 people. Many worked 9-10 hours a day for several days to get things back together. It was an example of the "Beloved Community," spoken of by Martin Luther King Jr. Rich and poor, privileged and homeless, all working side by side. Really, it was a kind of miracle.

It would be impossible to name all the helpers, but some that come to mind: Kathy Philipps, Kathy Flora, Linda Coughlin, Cheryl Rice, Brian Rice, Ken Fitzsimmons, Chuck Hillier, Bea, Don, Kelly, Dan Philipps, Pam--many, many others. A remarkable effort! Thank You so much!

The clean-up

Feeding the Hungry--at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio

Every Thursday evening Linda and I go to St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio, and serve a meal to the hungry. The meal is prepared, from scratch, by many volunteers associated with Karpos Ministry, led by Kathy Philipps and her husband Dan. St. Mary's lends us their kitchen and refrigeration facilities in the Fr. Hanzo Center. My guess is that about 15 people are involved in meal preparation, serving, and clean up. I don't know the names of every volunteer. Besides Kathy and Dan Philipps, there is Wayne, Jan, Joan, Rose, Pam, Jeff, Ken Fitzsimmons, Kathy Flora, Chuck Hillier, and many more (I'll try to get all the names one of these days). Chuck does one of the hardest jobs, washing up the pots and pans.

The food is delicious, as good or better than a family homemade meal. Kathy is very concerned that the meals be nutritious, and she uses her considerable powers of persuasion to get everyone to eat their veggies. The meal is topped off with a dessert. These are always good and often spectacular. My favorites are the fruit pies made by hand by an expert, the former owner of the restaurant on Burton Square, near Northern Ohio's Amish country.

The closest thing to St. Mary's meal that I have ever seen were the meals prepared at the Catholic Worker House in Davenport, Iowa, under the watchful eyes of Margaret Quigley Garvey. I lived and worked there in the summer of 1976, and we spent much of every afternoon preparing a delicious supper for the hungry.

Jesus said, "Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty." We try to do our little part every Wednesday and Thursday evening, around 5 to 6 PM, at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio.