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Dear Supporter of Luke 14:12,
You've probably heard the story of our beginning, but it's one worth hearing again. Over 20 years ago, a woman of God saw a need that she could fill in the person of a homeless man. Making a pot of soup to welcome a new staff member at Edgehill United Methodist Church, Laura McCray met someone else for whom the soup must surely have been intended. As the hungry man eagerly satisfied his most
basic physical need, "Miss Laura" must have sensed a call to action, for she responded by starting a soup kitchen at the church devoted to feeding the homeless and the hungry. .
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Wouldn't Miss Laura be pleased...
With the growth!
What Miss Laura began and ran—as a mostly "one-woman show"— is now a thriving ministry serving consistently good food in that atmosphere of love and respect Miss Laura left as her legacy. |
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We are no longer surprised to have 150 guests for a meal!
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We have an awesome abundance of volunteers! What a tremendous blessing to have groups, local as well as from other cities and even states, contacting us to ask to help! Mission teams, corporate service days, businesses wanting to make a difference—all in addition to our faithful base of steady volunteers who provide the smiles and the contact that put the "banquet" in "soup kitchen."
- Miss Laura ran Luke 14:12 on "a wing and a prayer"! That Luke 14:12 has a diverse and steady base of donors and funding sources—individuals, faith communities, businesses, corporate gifts, or foundation grants—is powerful assurance that our doors can and will remain open to feed those who hunger. Our needs have always been met, and we are most grateful.
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With the relationships!
Miss Laura believed that people should do their best to help others be their best. |
- Of the four men who make up our part-time staff, two have been able to come off the streets and into decent housing. Being able to provide employment to the homeless is a wonderful opportunity for us.
Our program director hires guests as additional work is available.
- Each summer, a team of adults from Celina, TN, comes to Nashville for a day to serve at Luke 14:12. The connection? Over 20 years ago a young divinity student at Vanderbilt went door-to-door offering transportation by church bus to the meal. His twin daughters, 4 years old at the time, delighted guests by singing the entire way! (The girls knew you were supposed to sing on the bus!).
- One young woman, who began serving as a young child with her mother 9 or 10 years ago, was particularly drawn to Miss Laura and this service of feeding the hungry. Katy Bowers chose to honor fellow high school graduates of the class of 2005 with a generous donation to Luke 14:12 in lieu of the traditional remembrance. Oh, Miss Laura would have been so pleased!
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With this child she birthed!
Luke 14:12 has indeed grown over these many years, from a fledgling ministry on a shoestring budget to a stable ministry bursting at its seams. Quite simply, we have outgrown our space in terms of kitchen size, storage area, and dining room capacity. We have made some necessary adjustments to compensate for the growth. We are serving two shifts of guests, which eases the dining room situation but does not leave time for lingering. And we are rarely serving second helpings, simply unable to store and prepare enough food to serve as we would like. Edgehill United Methodist Church has provided a wonderful home for this program from its very beginning, and, like a good parent, Edgehill has given Luke the support and nurture it needed to become independent. In June of last year Luke 14:12 incorporated, and in March of this year, we received 501(c)3 status from the IRS giving us nonprofit status. With these designations, an army of volunteers, adequate funding, and a terrific program director, we are looking for housing in a larger facility to continue feeding the hungry and homeless in Nashville. |
" . . . invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, and the blind . . . "
For the board,
Anne Archer Davis
President, 2006 |
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Download the entire 2006 Luke
14:12 Newsletter here!
Download some of our past newsletters.
Downloads are in the PDF
format.
2000
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2002 ,
2003 , 2004
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