faith! - Frances Burns
St. Luke’s Ministry ensures those in need are fed by more than just a hot meal.
When Frances Burns serves meals to those in need through her work with the St. Luke’s Feeding Ministry, she is reminded of the promise we make in our baptismal covenant: “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”
A lifelong Episcopalian, Frances, 65, grew up at Trinity Cathedral, where she was baptized, confirmed and married. She has heard these words throughout her life in the countless baptisms she has participated in, but when she stands face-to-face with someone in deep need whose life is so very different from hers, the words become much more than a prayer.
The St. Luke’s Feeding Ministry, in partnership with St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Waverly community, provides hot meals 12 times a year to people who are living on the streets or in difficult circumstances in the downtown Columbia area. St. Martin’s participates on the fourth Saturday every other month. St. Martin’s also serves a Christmas meal while St. Luke’s provides meals the other six months of the year as well as a Thanksgiving feast.
“I will always say it reminds me that we’re all equal,” Frances said. “Life circumstances affect where you are and a lot of these people deal with mental illness. I try to remind myself how fortunate I am. I get to drive to the comfort of my home after serving. I get to escape. They never get to escape.”
The ministry was started by St. Luke’s in the late 1990s.
“St. Luke’s started it with PB and J sandwiches and brown bags,” Frances said. “Then it moved into a partnership, and we were able to provide hot meals.”
The late Frank Schmieding, a former St. Martin’s staff member, played an integral part in getting St. Martin’s involved in the partnership, Frances said. He learned about the need, brought it to the parish, and parishioners immediately volunteered.
St. Martin’s now has been involved for nearly two dozen years. Frances got involved in the early 2000s.
Frances and her husband Brian had joined St. Martin’s in 1986 after moving back to Columbia from Chicago. The church was a perfect fit for a growing family, but taking part in activities beyond worship and Sunday school wasn’t always feasible with three young children.
“I was looking for something to do at the church, and I needed something on the weekends. This happened on Saturdays,” Frances said.
Now nearly two dozen years later, she’s not only involved, but for many years has coordinated the effort.In fact -- though Frances would not tell anyone this -- she has many times been the lone voice ensuring that the meals are gathered and delivered.
Her emails to volunteers on the months that St. Martin’s is responsible single-handedly rally the troops and ensure those meals are cooked, packaged and served.
The emails ask for volunteers to bake homemade items such as mac-and-cheese, green beans, squash casserole, fried chicken and a dessert. On the day the meals are to be served, the food is brought to St. Martin’s Parish Hall, where it is packed in to-go boxes and transported to St. Luke’s for distribution by a small group of additional St.Martin’s volunteers. “I wouldn’t change anything for the world,” Frances said of her years of involvement.
She’s deeply grateful to the volunteers who always show up – many faithfully for the same two dozen years she has been involved. Frances encourages anyone with an interest to give the ministry a try.
The time commitment is small – about two hours on the scheduled Saturdays. You can even spend less time than that if you simply prepare a dish and bring it to the Parish Hall to be packaged.
“You can make a difference with such small effort,” she said.
Those packaging assembly lines are pretty joyful occasions – the fast pace is filled with conversation, laughter and catching up with one another’s lives.
“People have fun with it,” Frances said.
Initially, those faithful members who took part would cook food that they then took to St. Luke’s, serving it on paper plates in a decorated dining hall to any and all who showed up on the specified Saturday.
COVID changed the rules about how the food is served, but it did not stop volunteers from ensuring those in need had a meal. Service went from the dining experience to to-go boxes.
“Up until COVID, you did not give out the meals in to-go boxes,” Frances said. “We wanted people to come in and eat and have that type of fellowship.”
But the to-go box preparation allows those who come for the food to take it with them and is an easier way for recipients who may be uncomfortable in social settings to receive the food.
Up to 75 meals are served at each gathering. Any food that remains – and there is rarely much – is given away to anyone present at the end of the serving time.
Frances said she leaves every gathering humbled by the sincerity of those who receive the food and the faithfulness of those who make the gathering happen – “their unwavering commitment” illustrates one of the many meaningful ways we can live into our baptismal covenant with one another.
“Our faith can grow by being around people as they share their faith,” Frances said. “This is a very sincere congregation, filled with people with a very sincere faith.”
For more about St. Luke’s Feeding Program:
• Contact Frances Burns at bburns4223@sc.rr.com
• You may also reach out to her through the St. Martin’s App.
• Meals are served on the fourth Saturday of every other month. You can cook a dish, help pack the meals, or deliver and distribute at St. Luke’s.
