Goodbye, First Presbyterian

Tom Couri

We volunteered for the last time at the First Presbyterian Church last week. After volunteering at several different sites in Woodlawn, from a homeless shelter to a children’s day camp, what was constant was the soup kitchen and food pantry at First Presbyterian. Two aspects of our experience there made First Presbyterian the ideal choice for service learning: how our help was really needed and the great people with whom we worked. The soup kitchen is held weekly, on Tuesdays, but we came on every other Tuesday, when no other church group would send volunteers. Because of this lack of personnel, we were busy and felt useful to the church. From making the food, preparing the plates, passing out the dishes, and cleaning up, we participated in all facets of the soup kitchen experience.

Leaving last Tuesday and saying good bye to our fellow soup kitchen volunteers reminded me of how great First Presbyterian really is. I got to know one volunteer in particular. He’s a member of a different church in Woodlawn, one with many more members and a higher profile, but he decided to come to First Presbyterian and help out because he admired how they reached out to the community and, with limited resources, made a difference through programs like the soup kitchen, food pantry, and senior exercise. We were both equally sad to see our time ending at First Presbyterian. We exchanged contact information and said we would see each other again. Will we? I hope so. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the everyday of school, classes, and studying once fall starts. But First Presbyterian’s mission of service really resonated with me. Either on my own or with a group such as a Day of Service from the medical school, I’ll be back.