There are people
in the world so hungry,
that God cannot
appear to them
except in
the form
of bread.
Mahatma Gandhi
Emmaus Ministries
A commitment to the forgotten and the faceless of society – a Christian presence and outreach in Erie, Pennsylvania since 1974.
Soup Kitchen
Food Pantry
The Companion Newsletter
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September 2018
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Mission
Contact Information
Emmaus Ministries, Inc.
345 East 9th Street
Erie, PA 16503
Phone: 814-459-8349
Fax: 814-459-8066
Email:
Sister Mary Miller, OSB
Margaret Kloecker
Rita Scrimenti
Breanna Mekuly
Emmaus Soup Kitchen
218 East 11th Street
Erie PA 16503
Sister Gus' Kids Cafe
310 East 10th Street
Erie PA 16503
814-878-2922
Breaking the Bread
From the Director
Sister Mary Miller
Dear Friends of Emmaus, As a follower of Saint Benedict, I have always loved the opening lines in his Rule, “Listen with the ear of your heart.” I guess it’s because I spend so much of my day trying to learn to listen. I try to listen to the words of Scripture, to other people, to the world, and to myself… to what’s inside of me. I’d like to say a little about listening to scripture...
For the Record
Coat Drive 2018
At the annual Emmaus Coat Drive and Giveaway, a three-year-old girl who regularly attends the soup kitchen with her family got a full winter outfit: jacket, boots, mittens and a hat. She was thrilled. And so were her parents because they also found warm clothing items for themselves and their one-year-old daughter.
“She was so adorable in her new outfit,” said Sister Mary. “I’m thankful for Kelley Glass and Andrea Hallman for organizing our 23rd annual coat drive.”
Coats, blankets, socks, mittens, hats, scarves, and other warm clothing items were donated to Emmaus by parishioners of St. Jude’s Church on Saturday, November...
Chocolate the Weight of an Elephant
“Our teacher told us a baby elephant weighs 260 pounds,” said Nora Hudson, a seven-year-old who attends St. Jude School. “And that’s how much candy we gathered for the soup kitchen– 260 pounds!”
Nora and her two brothers, James and Eddie, were part of a group of students from St. Jude School who went Trick-or-Treating on Halloween and then donated candy to Emmaus Soup Kitchen. Students were encouraged to do so by their second and third grade teachers who suggested they “be a saint and make a sacrifice on All Saint’s Day.”
Nora’s older brother Eddie thinks “most the kids at school,” about 400 students, donated some of their...
Halloween at the Kids Cafe
Bobbing for apples, face painting, and costume wearing were themes at this year’s Kids Cafe Halloween party! There were also other opportunities for the 52 children from the Kids Cafe to participate in games like musical chairs and a “freeze dance,” along with a scavenger hunt looking for apples.
And there was chocolate, candy, and sweets galore but “they had to eat their dinner before they could eat the sweets!” said Stephanie...
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Walking Together on the Road to Emmaus
Volunteers and Donors
Emmaus depends on many volunteers and donors at the food pantry, soup kitchen and Kids Cafe.Call 814-459-8349 if you would like to volunteer. Click here to make a donation.
Colleen Hammon speaks about Mental Health at the Soup Kitchen Colleen Hammon volunteers at Emmaus Soup Kitchen twice a week in the dining room, where she often uses her experience with social work to engage in meaningful conversations with guests. She was interviewed by Emmaus staff member, Breanna Mekuly. |
Soup's On: An Emmaus Journal
By Breanna Mekuly, a new employee with Emmaus Ministries. She grew up in Wisconsin, studied theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School, and relocated to Erie this summer to intern with Sister Joan Chittister. She began working with Emmaus mid-fall 2016.
Month of OctoberEmmaus is sometimes a place family members meet: for example, tonight at the soup kitchen we had two sets of twins! One set is four, the other 12 years old. They are cousins and told me that twins run in their family. Both families I have seen before, but I’ve never seen them in the family dining room together. They were thrilled to see one another, the older girls just as happy to be models for the younger ones as the younger ones were happy to be coddled by the elders. +++ |
Remember Emmaus with a Memorial
We are grateful to family members who ask that memorials be made to Emmaus on the death of loved ones. Visit our secure site to offer a memorial.
+ Robert Lawrence Theiss (vol)
+ Mary S. Leonardi
+ David A. Cologrande
+ Jean Ann (Braun) Reichert
+ Timothy McGuire Holland
+ Susan Jane Wurst DiCara
+ Rita A. (Alexandrowicz) Urbaniak
+ Jim "Bugsy" Hammond
+ John M. Cianella
+ Margaret Salzman Heberlein Thomas
+ Kay Hardner (vol)
Fulfill the Emmaus Wish List
You can always help us stock our shelves at the soup kitchen with ground coffee, instant tea and instant lemonade, jelly/jam, peanut butter, maple syrup, mayonnaise/miracle whip, soup, and canned fruit. We ALWAYS appreciate diapers (all sizes) and baby formula.
The Kids Cafe Store is in need of the following items:
School supplies
hand sanitizer,
Kleenex,
hair supplies (shampoo and conditioner, hair ties, brushes, picks, head bands, etc.)
Attention Bakers!!! We welcome homemade treats for our guests. If you're a baker, know that our Emmaus guests appreciate cookies, cakes, pies…sweets of any kind.
Call 814-459-8349 for more information or to schedule your donation.
Pray with Emmaus
Please join with the Emmaus community in reciting this prayer daily.
Prayer of St. Vincent DePaul
You will find that charity
is a heavy burden to carry,
heavier than the kettle of soup
and the basket of bread.
But you must your gentleness
and your smile keep.
Giving soup and bread
isn’t all that you can do.
The poor are your masters-
terribly sensitive and exacting
as you will see.
But the more demanding they seem
the more unjust and bitter
the more you must give them your love.