wfn.org | 'Souper Bowl' to fight hunger

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3323 notes).

Note 3317 by UMNS on Dec. 4, 1996 at 16:48 Eastern (3419 characters).

SEARCH:   Souper Bowl, Super Bowl, hunger, interdenominational
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Joretta Purdue                         605(10-71B){3317}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722            Dec. 3, 1996

'Souper Bowl' turns secular festival
into money raiser for hunger projects

                 by United Methodist News Service

     From East Coast to West Coast on Super Bowl Sunday, churches
of many denominations will raise funds to feed the hungry with an
innovative plan that has raised $2 million in the past six years.
     Begun in 1990 as a local effort of youth groups in just 22
churches in Columbia, S.C., the simple plan for a "Souper Bowl"
has been used since by thousands of churches to raise funds for
the hunger projects of their choice.
      A brainchild of the Rev. Brad Smith and the youth group at
Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, the young people
sought a $1 donation from everyone present who would enjoy the
Super Bowl. The 22 church groups raised $5,700 that first day.
Each group determined what hunger project would receive its funds.
     Youth at Virginia Wingard United Methodist Church in Columbia
used the church's soup kettles to collect a donation as people
exited the service that first year and have continued every year
since. It has "become part of our tradition here," said the Rev.
Walter Coleman, a Baptist minister who is program coordinator at
the church.
     The youth group publicizes the offering for several weeks in
advance and then uses a bulletin insert about the program on
Souper Bowl Sunday. In the past, the money collected has helped
various projects including Harvest Hope, the local food bank. Last
year, the group gave the money it raised to the church's own food
pantry, which distributes 75-80 bags of groceries a month, Coleman
said.
     At First United Methodist Church in Gulfport, Miss., the
youth group, young adult group and other members of the church
make soup from donated foods and serve a soup lunch after the 11
a.m. service, explained the Rev. Cecil Jones, senior pastor.
     Receipts from the 1996 luncheon constituted a $1,688 donation
to Feed My Sheep, a local feeding program. The 1,500-member church
has been participating since Souper Bowl went national.
     In 1996 more than 600 United Methodist churches in 45 states
reported their collections to the phone bank in South Carolina.
Geographically, they ranged from Saco, Maine, to Los Angeles and
from Anchorage, Alaska, to Key West, Fla.
     Naturally more United Methodist congregations took part in
South Carolina, where at that time retired Bishop Robert H. Spain
was fulfilling the appointment of the late Bishop Joseph B. Bethea
and became part of the Souper Bowl Advocates, a group endorsing
the interdenominational effort.
     The five states with the most United Methodist churches
participating in January 1996 were South Carolina, 148; Georgia,
60; Pennsylvania, 51; North Carolina, 40; and Texas, 33.
     A brochure explaining Souper Bowl is available from Smith at
(800) 358-SOUP.
     Organizers ask that participants report totals by calling
toll free (800) 358-SOUP between noon and 6 p.m. Eastern Time on
Sunday. 
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