Feeding Body and Soul

By Kathy Doane

With a few strategic edits, the unofficial motto of the U.S. Post Office—Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night, you know the rest—could apply to the volunteers from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Columbus and their partner churches who host Street Church every Sunday afternoon at 1 pm.

Since the first Street Church took place in a parking lot on Easter Sunday, 2006, in the Franklinton neighborhood near downtown Columbus where St. John’s is located, they haven’t missed a Sunday. Think about that.

Regardless of downpours, raging wind, stifling heat or any other natural or manmade challenges, Street Church has never been cancelled. That includes January 25th of this year when Columbus received a record-breaking, one-day snowfall of 12 to 15 inches and temperatures slid to 0° and below at times due to the wind. 

Cheryl Mellon, who has been involved with Street Church from the beginning, was on the job that day. “We didn’t do the service, but there were people out walking, and we gave them food and handed out socks and hand-warmers.” 

Eventually, Cheryl and another volunteer piled into her husband’s pickup truck, offering their food and supplies to anyone they saw. “It was only after I got home that I learned there was a Level 3 Snow Emergency, and no one was supposed to be outside,” she says, laughing. “We asked God to protect us, and He did.”

The most powerful motivation for volunteers to put themselves out there regardless of the weather is, of course, the people they serve. “They are out there struggling all the time,” says longtime St. John’s volunteer, Gay Roberts. “We do this for an hour and then go back to our warm homes.”

Street Church began as an outgrowth of another St. John’s mission, His Place, a community dinner that took place every Wednesday evening in the early 2000s. At the time, St. John’s priest-in-charge, the Rev. Lee Anne Reat and other church leaders, recognized that everyone they could potentially serve was not comfortable with a traditional service within the church. It was time to try something different in addition to their Sunday morning worship. 

Acting as the organizer, St. John’s partnered with other churches and organizations in the area. “If we were going to do this every Sunday [a short service followed by lunch], we knew we needed to get other churches involved,” Gay says.

In the early days, St. John’s also worked with Ecclesia Ministries of Boston, a national network of Street Churches. They supplied guidelines, crosses and other materials to hand out. 

That first Sunday afternoon volunteers set up shop in a nearby parking lot. “About 30 people showed up that day,” Gay recalls. Word has spread since then. 

St. John’s continues to oversee Street Church with church administrator Sam Meade scheduling host churches from the diocese at the beginning of each year. Currently, volunteers from five other Episcopal churches and one Presbyterian church take turns with St. John’s: St. Stephen’s, Columbus; St. Mark’s, Columbus; St. Matthew’s, Westerville; St. John’s, Worthington; St. Patrick’s, Dublin; and Liberty Barn Presbyterian Church. Occasionally, individuals or a family sign up to supply the food and conduct a brief service.

A typical Sunday afternoon now attracts 50 to 55 people. Those in attendance stand for a 10 to 15 minute service, which is immediately followed by lunch. Cheryl describes worship as “a Reader’s Digest version of an Episcopal service.” 

There’s usually a gathering prayer, sometimes an unaccompanied hymn, one of the day’s scripture readings (often the Gospel), a short reflection if a lay person is leading or sermon if a priest is officiating, followed by the Lord’s Prayer. Those attending often ask for prayers for themselves or others. If a priest is on hand, Eucharist is offered.

Everyone is invited to stay for lunch, even those who show up after the service. Volunteers fill plates as people make their way down the line, then they find seats at nearby tables set up for the occasion. Regardless of what church is hosting that day, there’s always someone on hand from St. John’s to make sure things run smoothly.

“Of course, we did things differently during the pandemic by handing out bags of food to take home,” Gay explains. “We saw a lot of children with their mothers during that time.” 

The reality is that Street Church, though originally conceived to serve the homeless, attracts a cross section of the population today. Every Sunday is a blend of familiar and new faces. Many do live on the streets, but they are joined by people who live in nearby houses, passersby and those who listen from their cars before sharing a meal.  

“We don’t ask questions, but people often share what’s going on in their lives, and they tell us every week how grateful they are for what we are doing,” Gay says. Regulars routinely show up early to help church volunteers set up.

“Even when we’ve had to move to a new location, regulars would find us,” Cherly says. There have been four forced moves in the past 20 years since Street Church started in a vacant lot at the corner of Schultz and Broad streets. 

They usually come about when a property is sold, and they are asked to move on by the new owner. That happened earlier this year when they had to vacate their longtime location in a parking lot at Broad Street and Central Avenue. “But God provided a new location in Franklinton Square not far away, and we are perfectly happy to be there,” Cheryl says. 

“It’s my favorite service of the day, there’s so much love and joy,” Gay adds. “I pray for them, and they pray for me.” 

Regardless of who is hosting Street Church, St. John’s Columbus supplies water and coffee as well as  plates and utensils if needed. If you’d like to financially support this mission, contact St. John’s at (614) 221-9328, stjohnscbus@gmail.com or go to st-johns-columbus.org. 

Kathy Doane is a freelance writer and member of All Saints, Pleasant Ridge. On June 25, Kathy will be inducted into the Greater Cincinnati Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame.