Friday 13 January 2017

March 10, 2010

Dear Friends:

Let’s play catch-up. I ran off to Chicago last week without giving you an update of last week’s dinner extravaganza. The holiday Purim was celebrated with 115 guests salivating over brisket (thanks so much, Bev,) and mishloach manot for everyone!  Hamantashen, chocolates, fruit and more. Wacky riddles on the tables promoted conversations between guests, guessing the answers and celebrating their accomplishments. Why had we never thought of that before?  "No true Jewish simcha is complete unless it is shared with friends and with the needy…." (Rabbi Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way)  Way to go, everyone!

Helena, Didi, Carol and Shirley have left for Israel! We will miss them, but wish them all   tzeit chem b’shalom, travel in peace and safety. (I bet they find a shelter at which to cook and serve!)
As for last night, phew!  Five pots of red lentil soup were devoured. One guest said, “It tasted a lot better than it looked!”  Everyone agreed. Not a chunk of chicken left, or salad, or vegetable or fettucine alfredo. With 136 guests, I must applaud all of our servers who are so experienced at portion control that everyone got fed! You are all remarkable! Why did so many come for dinner on such a gorgeous Spring day? (Almost Spring; I can count the days on two hands now.) As the OOTC season nears its end, guests are taking their last advantage of a different kind of soup kitchen. They are served with dignity, spoken to, acknowledged and treated to delicious food.  We know that you can’t get rid of poverty by giving people money, and you can’t build communities without opening doors and welcoming one another and the sunshine in!

Please plan on celebrating at the OOTC volunteer appreciation dinner, April 7. Invitations are a-coming if you didn’t get one already last night.

There is a special event on Saturday May 1, 3 pm at Centenary United Church 24 Main St. W. The Tempus Choral Society presents Come to the Music, a Spring Benefit Concert for Out of the Cold. www.tempuschoralsociety.com Tickets are $10 and may be purchased from me.

Have a wonderful week.

Cindy

No comments:

Post a Comment