Soup brings community together
FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- Two of the best ways to warm your heart during the winter is with a good bowl of soup and the company of friends. One local church provides that very combination for the community each winter.
Walk down National Avenue on the third Friday of November, December, January, February, and March and there on the corner of National Avenue and Third Street a little sign shows the way to the entrance for the basement of the First United Methodist Church and their fellowship soup lunch. Walk in the door and you will be greeted with the smell of hearty soup and the sounds of joyful conversation among friends. Step into the basement and you will find a smiling face waiting to serve you and a table of friends waiting for you to join.
Howard Kivett, member of the church and the host of Friday's lunch, said the lunch that is geared toward the goal of getting the community together has been running for more than 20 years. Although he is not sure just when the lunches started, he said he knows the church has been hosting them for "a long, long time."
Several different organizations within the First United Methodist Church each host one of the lunches, Friday's was hosted by a men's group in the church. Other organizations that host include youth groups, women's groups, and a hospitality group.
Local resident Jack Stephan has been attending the lunches regularly with his wife Margorie for the past four years. He said they come to enjoy the food and the fellowship with other members of the community.
"It's a good place to eat and a good place for fellowship," he said.
Kivett said the lunches usually bring anywhere from 60-100 people each time, which has increased over the last several years as a result of getting the word out more. Kivett said the lunches are not limited to members of the church and that the whole community is encouraged to join.
"There are a lot of people that come that are not members of the church," Kivett said. "We welcome everybody."
Ginger Thomas is not a member of the church, however she said she has been coming to the soup lunches for the last five years. She said she saw the sign on the street and told her friend who was driving that they needed to stop in for lunch, after Thomas returned her library book.
To the men and women that organize the lunches, the most important part of the day is the fellowship that occurs among those who attend.
"It's kind of fun, you get to see your neighbors and people in the community," said Ottis Allen, who was also a member of the men's group who organized Friday's lunch.
"One of the good things about this is that people sit around and visit for a while," he added. "That makes it feel good."
To help facilitate the fellowship, Allen said, they encourage everyone to come back for a second serving of soup or dessert. He said that with about 15 pies provided by members of the church and three different soups, there is always enough food.
"We try to fill everybody up," he said.
While the lunch is free of charge, free-will donations are accepted with profits going toward the church's mission group.
The next fellowship soup lunch is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 18, in the basement of the First United Methodist Church on the corner of National Avenue and Third Street.