ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – Since 2011 Covenant Presbyterian Church has served warm meals to those in need in the community. So many people and a lot of hard work have gone into keeping this mission going and one man has been honored for his role in the service.
Covenant Presbyterian Church has severed the community warm meals for more than 10 years – as part of its “Plentiful Harvest” mission. That mission was started by church members who saw that good food, being discarded by grocery stores and restaurants, could be used to serve those in need. The missions, Director Steve Garland, has been instrumental in the start of the soup kitchen.
“A lot of people just count on it. Some people, like when we were serving inside, they like the social aspect of it because they get to talk to people that they didn’t know and eat together but, mainly its just people that want a good hot meal on Sunday,” says Garland.
Steve Garland was nominated and awarded the Civitas Order of Merit Award. He was given this honor because of his work in the community and with Plentiful Harvest – overseeing projects and helping to maintain the mission.
Church member and Plentiful Harvest cook, Martha Hinson says, “This award is only presented to a non-Civitan person in the community. So, certainly there was some competition but Steve was nominated by me and he was chosen as our recipient.”
This church works with 14 other organizations a different faiths and denomination to help serve food for as many as 75 people on Sunday.
Covenant Presbyterian’s Pastor, John Nowaczewski, says, “Food is an amazing ministry for a number of reasons. As our Lord broke bread and drank with his disciples and all manner of people throughout the Bible, it is the common denominator. So, anyway that we can introduce food into the conversation or into the mission, it helps dramatically with breaking down barriers and helping people to be able to communicate more effectively.”
This mission is continuing to bring people of all backgrounds in the community together. Garland says this work has taught him a lot, including the importance of having a servants heart and putting others first.
“You should do more at a church, my opinion is that you should do more than just go sit in the pew on Sunday. I know people that want to get involved with helping serve the community should find a church like ours that serves the community and pitches in and helps. It does you more good than it does them,” says Garland.
In the video above, CN2’s Rachel Richardson is speaking with the leaders who help keep this mission moving forward.
