Community cooperation makes Red Door Cafe possible

By linda m. LINONIS | linonis@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

In the Episcopal tradition, many church doors are painted red to signify sanctuary and safety from physical and spiritual harm.

St. John’s Episcopal Church follows this tradition, and its red doors are an identifying marker and beacon. Many are told to look for the red doors of the church, where a free hot meal is provided from noon to 1 p.m. Sundays.

It began as a soup kitchen in response to the aftermath of Black Monday, Sept. 19, 1977, when Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. announced it was closing its Campbell Works in Campbell and Struthers. It meant the loss of 5,000 area steel jobs, which plunged many families into financial distress and food insecurity.

Nancy Morris, a longtime member of St. John’s, explained her late husband, Jack, had taken a trip to New York with a St. John’s group. A soup kitchen was operating at a church they visited. “He was so impressed with how it operated,” she recalled. “He saw it as something that was needed here.”

So the soup kitchen began at St. John’s, but Morris said the committee realized it would be difficult for the congregation to manage it alone. “By word of mouth, we enlisted the help of other churches, synagogues and groups,” she said. That tradition continues to this day, with Valley churches, synagogues, community organizations and even some families signing up to prepare and serve meals.

Morris said a committee first ran the soup kitchen – as it was called in the early years. She served as coordinator for a decade or so, retiring about five years ago. In the early years, as many as 200 came for the free meals; now, an average Sunday draws about 80 people.

“I love the idea of St. John’s reaching out to the community to help. It fills a need,” Morris said. “It is a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding.”

Pat Rogers is the current coordinator. The 15-year member at St. John’s said it’s her job to “make sure volunteers are here to prepare and serve.” She said the Valley churches, synagogues, community organizations and others “pick the Sunday or Sundays” for which they want to sign up.

“Some groups have had the same Sundays for years,” she said.

Some organizations stick with a tried-and-true menu, which may be their signature dish.

Currently there are 22 organizations covering 52 Sundays. St. John’s, as the host church, signs up for about 13 Sundays. Congregation Rodef Shalom and Temple El Emeth in Liberty have participated for years, she said. The Jewish synagogues especially fill in during Christian observances of Christmas and Easter.

Rogers said there is a diversity among the volunteer organizations that include Scouts, sports teams and community groups. “There are so many that volunteer, it’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s a humbling experience – they’re essential to this.”

The coordinator said she appreciates that St. John’s began Red Door Cafe as a “mission project,” but now it involves other denominations. “The community effort makes this incredible,” she said.

About a dozen years ago, the color reference of the church doors evolved into the name of Red Door Cafe because volunteers believed “it needed a better description,” Rogers said. “When we make changes, we involve two representatives from each participating group.”

Rogers continued that it takes from eight to 10 volunteers from each organization to prepare and serve the meal. “Some have fewer volunteers, some more,” she said. Some organizations supply the meals on their Sundays, while others rely on food provided by St. John’s. Donations and grants make the cafe possible, she said.

“I want guests to feel comfortable and welcome, and I believe that they do,” Rogers said. “So many thank us and smile.”

On June 19, Zion Lutheran Church served its trademark meal of pasta and meatballs. Until recently, Pam Raeburn, a Zion member since 1980, coordinated Zion’s cafe volunteers. She’s retiring from that position but continuing as leader of Zion’s food-distribution ministry.

Raeburn, a preschool teacher at Zion, said she “understands what it is like to be in need” and hates to see anyone in that situation. Her husband lost his job when they had young children. “Zion stepped in to help,” she said.

“It’s about giving back to the community and my neighbors,” Raeburn said of volunteer service. “I get more than I give.” Raeburn added that Christ’s service to others is an example to follow.