FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 FALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1983
VOL., 27 NO. 28
$8 Per Year
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LOVING AND SERVING: At top, Market Ministries dining room, New Bedford. Among its workers are Deacon James Wing of Pilgrim United Church of Christ, far left, standipg; and Sister Rosellen Gallogly, RSM, standing, in white blouse. Below, Mayetta and Joseph Levasseur pre pare for diners at Fall River Community Soup Kitchen. (Rosa and Torchia Photos)
By Pat McGowan Love serves. Not a bad job description for a life committed to God. If you'd like to see such lives in action, come by the Fall River Community Soup Kitchen at the Diocesan Department of Social Services building. 738 Slade St., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. any Tues day, 'Thursday or Saturday. Not convenient? Try New Bed ford Market Ministries at Pil grim U~ited Church of Christ, 635 Purchase St., at the same hours Monday, Tuesday, Wed nesday and Friday. At each site you'll find a total ly volunteer, totally efficient operation, serving a substantial meal to from 70 to 80 persons each day of operation in Fall River, to from 150 to 170 in New Bedford. Additionally in New Bedford, Market Ministries spon sors an 18-bed shelter which has played to a full house nightly sirce Feb. 11. Both operations are ecumeni; cal and community based, draw ing support from merchants, cor porations·and fraternal organiza tions in their areas, as well as from Protestants, Catholics and Jews. The Fall River kitchen is incorporated in its own name; New Bedford's program is spon
sored by the area Clergy and Religious Association. But in both a Catholic sister has played an important .role. In Fall River the soup kitchen was sparked by Sister Kathleen· Mur phy, OP, coordinator for the Diocesan Deaf Apostolate. Sister Kathleen's cousin, Sister Eileen, RSM, is involved with Provi dence's Amos House soup kit chen. Sister Kathleen, after visiting Amos House, decided that in these hard economic times Fall River needed a similar project. After many discussions and meetings, Fall River had one, going strong since last January. In New Bedford Sister Ros ellen Gallogly, RSM, is the spark plug for the nearly two-year-old Market Ministries. Long active in social welfare programs, she plans menus and orders food for the soup kitchen and coordinates volunteer workers for the over night shelter, many nights super vising it herself if a volunteer is absent. At both kitchens workers ob serve that patronage soars at the end - of the month "when Social Security checks and food stamps have run out." Kitchen operation details, however, vary in the two cities. In Fall River Joseph and May
elta Levasseur are the glue hold ing the operation together, while in New Bedford various churches share responsibility, each sup plying volunteers to cook, serve and clean up one day a month. The Levasseurs, who are Bap tists, say ~heir supervisory role just happened to them. "I'm assistant market. master at the Fall River Farmers' Mar ket," explained Joseph Levass eur, a lean and fit Marine Corps retiree. "When the soup kitchen was in the talking stage, the market master was asked to at tend a meeting. He couldn't go, so I filled in. We got hooked and here we are." Hooked indeed.' Mayetta, 58, and Joseph, 64, are on hand at 8 a.m. each day the kitchen is open. By 8:15 deliveries of don ated foods begin, they say. Un like New Bedford, where most food is bought, the Fall River kitchen depends totally on dona tions. "We ask for nothing but we'll accept anything," summed up Joseph. As in the Gospel parable of the.lollves and fishes, giving has never failed. Mink. .,.eats, pas tries, bread, vegetables arrive in an unending stream, as if peo ple had been awaiting the opTurn to Page Six