The Transfiguration Soup Kitchen ministry served meals from January through April at the Charles M. Pond Memorial Soup Kitchen in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago.  Average attendance was 55 meals served per visit, for a total of 220 meals.  Menus consisted of a hearty main dish, vegetables, bread and a dessert, all cooked by our own congregation.  I estimate that Transfiguration has served well over 11,000 meals since I started volunteering there in 1989.  We also continued our famous "chocolate milk ministry", something that has given us favored status with the locals who frequent the kitchen.

Roseland is an economically impoverished community on Chicago's far South side.  Despite years of decline starting in the early 70s, Roseland benefitted from increasing opportunities for employment in the 90s.  During this time, the clientelle at the soup kitchen went from predominantly the jobless or addicted to mostly the elderly. The recent depression has hit this community hard;  gangs and violence are on the increase.  There is an increasing need for the services provided by this outreach.

2009 has been a year of transition at the Soup Kitchen.  Service was curtailed by the injury of Deacon Gwen Dillon, who has tirelessly run the kitchen since the early 80s.  Gwen fell in May, breaking her hip.  She has needed significant rehabilitative care and continues to get physical therapy.  As a consequence, she has not been able to run the kitchen.  The Episcopal Church has been working on organizing volunteer congregations to help with this task, but as of now, the soup kitchen remains closed.