Church youth groups show ‘souper’ way of caring about others

Last year the effort raised nearly $200,000.

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

HACKENSACK, N.J. — It’s not just about football.

Churches nationwide are making Super Bowl Sunday a day of charity to raise millions of dollars for the poor.

Hours before the showdown Sunday between the Giants and New England Patriots, church youth groups carrying empty soup pots will collect cash and food from worshipers and donate the proceeds to local charities.

The effort by dozens of churches in New Jersey alone — as part of the national Souper Bowl of Caring program — raised nearly $200,000 last year for organizations like the Center for Food Action.

“It’s so simple — the kids just jump on it,” said the Rev. Kent Smith, associate pastor at West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood, N.J. “It’s a chance for the kids to do some good.”

It’s also a chance for churches to sound a spiritual note on a day when millions of Americans are preoccupied with parties and sports. That preoccupation will seem especially intense this year with the Giants in the Super Bowl.

“So many of us stuff our faces on Super Bowl Sunday,” said Michelle Heinzinger, the director of Christian education for the First Congregational Church of River Edge, N.J. “But right in our own area, people are starving.”

The church’s confirmation program has made the charitable collection a staple, Heinzinger said.

“When we stack up the cans of soup, and they see all of that, they know someone is going to have a warm meal,” she said. “That makes a big impact.”

The idea originated at a South Carolina church, where a seminary intern made this impromptu prayer on Super Bowl Sunday in 1988: “Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat.”

Brad Smith, now an ordained minister and executive director of the Souper Bowl of Caring, said the prayer struck a chord.

“For some reason, that line stuck with me, and it was months later when it clicked,” he said in an interview. “I was thinking of all the energy around the game, yet it’s coldest time of year, and a lot of folks are hungry. I felt if we could each give a dollar, boy that would be neat.”

He started the program in 1990 with 22 churches raising about $5,700. Last year, thousands of churches and other organizations nationwide raised more than $8 million, said Tracy Bender, a spokeswoman for the group.

All told, the effort has raised about $41 million since its inception. Smith said the reason for its success is its simplicity: People are asked to give a dollar or a can.

“Everybody has a dollar in their wallet,” he said. “It’s incredibly simple, and it has absolute integrity.”

The program isn’t limited to churches. Smith said some synagogues participate, as well as schools, including the Tenakill Middle School in Closter, N.J.

Pastors, meanwhile, say it gives them a golden opportunity to connect faith with one of popular culture’s marquee attractions.

“I am not a football fan, but I do recognize that it plays a certain role in our culture,” said the Rev. Charles Austin, interim pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Savior in Paramus, N.J.

“And there are a lot of things in popular culture that if we in the churches paid attention to, we could help people connect faith to their lives.”

Austin, who is a former (Bergen County, N.J.) Record newspaper reporter, is planning to inject his own dose of popular culture to celebrate his church’s efforts on Super Bowl Sunday. He has promised to sing the country and western song “Dropkick Me Jesus (Through the Goalposts of Life)” — if congregants surpass their giving from last year.

He said the church will donate the money to the Interreligous Fellowship for the Homeless of Bergen County.

“If I can do something to encourage people to give more to their local soup kitchen — even if it makes me look a little silly — that’s OK,” Austin said.

Also participating in the Souper Bowl of Caring program are Roman Catholic parishes in Bogota, Lodi, Teaneck, Wyckoff and Westwood, and a Catholic school in Franklin Lakes.

The Super Bowl, meanwhile, fulfills another role for local churches — an event to bring congregants together and attract new members.

Bethany Church in Wyckoff, N.J., is expecting more than 100 kids to watch the game on a large-screen TV set at the church. And at halftime, James Dearth, a long snapper/tight end with the Jets, will speak to the gathering about his Christian faith.

“We do it as an outreach,” said the Rev. John James, Bethany’s youth pastor. “It’s a good event for the kids to invite their friends from school.”

The pastor of a church that meets in Englewood, N.J., said his congregants will probably hold several informal parties at homes but with no religious content.

“The goal is to let people know Christians aren’t weird,” quipped the Rev. Peter Ahn of Metro Community Church. “We are normal. We like football and we’re not quoting scripture at every touchdown.”