A free community soup dinner will be presented Nov. 18 in Watseka.
The public is invited to go to the First Christian/Living Hope Church on North Sixth Street in Watseka from 3-7 p.m. that day.
Cynthia Cross of Watseka is the organizer. She said there will be ham and beans, chicken noodle soup, salad, breads, drinks and desserts offered that day. People will have the option to eat in or have carry out.
“Ultimately what the whole heart behind this is just being able to love on the community,” she said. “People are struggling with family issues, with financial issues, with chaos in the world. Everybody went through COVID and all of those things. There’s a lot of bad things in the world. This is just an opportunity just to be a light and a witness into the community and to simply love on them.”
She said everyone who wants to attend will be welcomed. “They can sit down and have fellowship if they don’t have people around. They can just sit down and talk to people and not be alone. It’s just an opportunity to show love to people in whatever capacity that is.”
Cross said there will be a freewill donation box for those who might feel compelled to make a donation.
“My heart is to be able to do something like this, not necessarily on this grand of scale, but having an opportunity to feed people. I know there are homeless in the community and that’s one of my main goals to reach is the homeless,” she said.
Cross said she knows there are food pantries and shelters for victims of domestic violence, but she is not aware of a place in the area for people to get a hot meal where food is prepared.
“My goal in my heart and my vision is to have an actual soup kitchen of some kind. What capacity that services people, once a week, once a month, I don’t know because it’s going to take funding from people and I haven’t really ventured into those avenues just yet. I just want to do this one dinner and see how well it goes and then kind of take it from there.”
Cross said the idea was something she had felt in her heart. The church is providing the place and she has had some donations from the church and others. If it is something that is going to be offered more often, she said, the church cannot do that on its own.
She said her vision does include having a soup kitchen as well as a place where people can have talk about their lives or have Bible study, then also be able to get toiletries and other necessities.
“My main goal is the homeless and those who are in need,” she said. “Just having a place in town where people can go whenever they are in need.”
She said life can change in an instant for people and that they suddenly are homeless. “I want to be able to feed them physically but also emotionally and spiritually and have the resources to help them out.”
