Food relief good for the soul in southern Sydney
BY LAUREN MARTIN
For many years, the Shire Salvos Miranda centre in the heart of the Sutherland Shire, in Sydney’s south, has been The Salvation Army’s hub of food relief and assistance services for the local area.
Even COVID didn’t stop its doors from opening. Now, the team has added a vital new expression – ‘Soul Food’ – a faith community around a meal.
Lieutenant-Colonel David Godkin, Shire Salvos Miranda Mission Leader, says the evening is specifically designed to nurture the soul – there is no welfare assistance or food hampers given away on the Soul Food evening. People come for food, faith and fellowship, he says, with the tagline for the evening being: Food for your stomach, Hope for your soul, Truth that sets you free.
And coming they are – in large numbers. Soul Food is held on a Thursday evening – two nights after the regular Tuesday night ‘One Meal’ food and assistance evening, which attracts between 50-70 people per week. The very first Soul Food faith expression in early August saw 50 people attend, many of them regulars to Shire Salvos Miranda who had invited friends to “their church”, as they are calling it.
“Already they feel like this is their place; this is their faith community,” says David. “On our first week, we had some prayer cards that we handed out to people, and they filled them in and put them in the prayer basket. People in corps [Shire Salvos Menai] have been praying for those prayer requests.”
“Soul Food needs to be a place that is real and raw – and always Jesus-focused.”
Soul Food at Miranda is supported by members of the Shire Salvos gathered worshipping community, which meets at Menai, a few suburbs away. Corps members volunteer to prepare the communal meal, be table hosts, set up, pack up and also give their testimonies. David says that Miranda community members are already putting up their hands to help and share their own stories.
“And it’s not just good news stories with a happy ending either; some people want to tell their stories because they are still in the midst of their struggle. We want a real mix of stories. Soul Food needs to be a place that is real and raw – and always Jesus-focused.”
One community member who attended said as she left one evening: “I love coming here, there is a really nice peace in the place.” Others have requested a weekly day-time Bible study.
Many attending have built relationships over months or years with Salvos at Miranda through its various ministries and services. Now, they can go deeper in fellowship and ask questions about things like faith, hope and unconditional love they have experienced through those interactions.
“[Soul Food] is like a breath of fresh air to them. They’re still all coming on Tuesday night for their food hamper and their community meal,” says David, “but there’s a real excitement about Thursday night because it’s their faith community. It’s special.”
