wfn.org | "Souper Bowl" Officials Report

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

31-March-1997 
97139 
 
               "Souper Bowl" Officials Report More 
           Than $1.5 Million From This Year's Campaign 
 
                         by Julian Shipp 
 
COLUMBIA, S.C.--"Souper Bowl" officials here report that more than $1.5 
million has been received as of March 13 from this year's antihunger and 
antipoverty campaign. 
 
     Volunteers at Souper Bowl headquarters say more than 5,500 churches in 
all 50 states, representing more than 40 denominations, have donated 
directly to charities that help feed the poor and sustain the marginalized. 
Based on last year's trend, 1997 Souper Bowl totals are expected to top 
$1.6 million once all participants have reported. 
 
     The Souper Bowl program was inspired by a pastoral prayer the Rev. 
Brad Smith, associate pastor of Spring Valley Presbyterian Church, 
Columbia, S.C., offered on Super Bowl Sunday in 1988.  Since then, a 
growing number of young people in churches across the country have invited 
parishioners to drop one dollar into a large soup cauldron as they leave 
worship on the morning of the National Football League (NFL)'s championship 
game. Participating churches phone in their totals and then send funds 
directly to the charity of their choice. 
 
     The first Souper Bowl drive in 1990 became a project of the youth of 
Spring Valley Presbyterian Church, who enlisted 22 churches in the Columbia 
area to participate. The program's ecumenical partnership has grown from 22 
churches in 1990 to 4,600 in 1996. More than 1,200 PC(USA) churches from 46 
different states participated in last year's Souper Bowl. 
 
     Presbyterian participation crisscrossed the country, but according to 
Smith, Pennsylvania Presbyterians led the way with 126 churches 
participating. However, South Carolina, North Carolina, New York, Arizona, 
Florida, Texas, Ohio and Virginia each exceeded 50 participating churches. 

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