CEDAR LAKE – Everyone agreed that the meals were always good, but it was the fellowship they missed most for the past four years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced St. Clare’s Kitchen to close in March 2020.
So it was all smiles at Holy Name of Jesus on April 25 as volunteers from the parish and its partner, the Our Lady of Lourdes Secular Franciscan Fraternity, greeted guests as the soup kitchen celebrated its reopening.
“I’m just absolutely thrilled to be back up and running and to see the support from the Our Lady of Lourdes Secular Franciscan Fraternity and our parish,” said Cindy Varenkamp, parish mission facilitator for Holy Name of Jesus, who welcomed 40 volunteers to the grand reopening. “We’ve had so many meetings over the past two years.”
Varenkamp said the soup kitchen had to meet new Lake County Health Department regulations, develop a new set of policies and procedures, outline roles and responsibilities for volunteers, and gain approval and signatures for the final collaborative agreement not only from the St. Clare’s Kitchen Council, but also from the parish council and the Secular Franciscans’ leadership. “We also now have two people with health department certification,” she added.
“I was happy when I heard St. Clare’s was reopening,” said Eleanor Willy, a Cedar Lake resident and Holy Name of Jesus parishioner who was welcomed by new and returning volunteers. “I’m looking forward to dining again with those I knew from before – I may have to call and let them know the kitchen is open again.”
The fellowship also drew friends Carol Comstock, Patty Hegyi and Miriam Serini-Simmel, all Cedar Lake residents, back to St. Clare’s Kitchen for the reopening. “I was really excited about the reopening,” said Hegyi, who appreciates the convenience. “It’s wonderful that it is local.”
“I hate to be alone,” admitted Comstock, not a Holy Name of Jesus parishioner but a faithful dinner guest for years who was happy to return.
“The food is always good, but the fellowship is what brings me back,” added Serini-Simmel.
Frances Holtz said her grandson was a youngster when she used to bring him with her to eat at St. Clare’s Kitchen years ago, but Joe Porter is now a young man. “The people and the relationships you develop are the best part,” she said.
Porter said he doesn’t remember a favorite meal, but does keep an eye out for “chocolate cake and brownies” on the dessert table. “The food is always good.”
The cook coordinator is Chris Moorhouse, a Holy Name of Jesus parishioner who picked the menu and led the kitchen crew for the first meal last month. “I cooked for about three years after former pastor Father Mike (Surufka) asked me, ‘Do you like to cook?’ and then we closed.” With an eye toward reopening, Moorhouse took online classes to earn health department certification.
“I kept it simple for the first meal,” she said of the menu that included pork loin, stuffing and gravy with carrots, salad, and rolls. “We have a group of cooks that will take turns as head cook, and with all the help, we’ll be out of here by 6:30 p.m., so it’s not too long of a day.”
Varenkamp praised the donation of desserts and an assortment of take-home bread products by Strack and Van Til Food Markets. “They donated a lot of food, as they did in the past, and we appreciate them,” said Varenkamp, who boasts a volunteer dedicated to picking up the donations.
The volunteer roster is a mix of veterans and newcomers that have received training and follow a handbook that lists 10 different jobs – cooks, cooking team, dining room clean-up, set-up crew, table facilitators, dishwashing team, beverage attendants, dining room attendants, meal service team and guest services coordinators. “Everybody picks at least three roles so we can vary the responsibilities, and we will probably assign people every third date once we get settled,” said Varenkamp.
“I want to socialize and serve people,” said retired nurse Carol Zientara, a new volunteer who enjoyed her role as a table facilitator, engaging guests in conversation and sharing jokes and icebreakers to “create a positive and inviting atmosphere.”
“I want to be friendly and help people feel more at home,” added Zientara. “Do you know why the tomato turned red? Because it saw the salad DRESSING.”
Also new to St. Clare’s Kitchen is parish administrator Father Patrick Gawrylewski, OFM, who arrived at Holy Name of Jesus during the hiatus. “This is totally new for me,” he said after offering a blessing. “I am very happy to see all the work done to reopen through the cooperation of the Secular Franciscans and the parish.
“This is an opportunity for people to come together for food, fellowship and a welcome. It’s an evangelical moment,” the priest added. No one was more grateful for the reopening than Richard Kutchek, a Holy Name of Jesus parishioner who remembers being at the first meal 20 years ago and almost everyone since. “I’m a widower, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Why not?” he said as he eyed his favorite part of every meal – dessert. “I was happy to hear they were reopening and see some of the same cooks and volunteers. It seems like a lot of people are hungry these days, and the cost of food keeps going up, so this is a good mission.”
St. Clare’s Kitchen opened about 20 years ago when Sharon Marmelejo and Kathy Georgelas, with a small group of fellow volunteers from the parish and the Secular Franciscans came together to create a place where community members could gather to share a meal, find fellowship and “experience the warmth of welcome and hospitality,” serving up to 100 people weekly.
Caption: Happy to return to St. Clare's Kitchen on April 25 after a four-year hiatus from Holy Name of Jesus in Cedar Lake are dinner guests (from left) Carol Comstock, Patty Hegyi, Miriam Serini-Simmel, Frances Holtz and Joe Porter, all Cedar Lake residents who ate almost weekly at the church before the COVID-19 pandemic closed the soup kitchen for more than four years. It has now reopened on the second and fourth Thursday of every month, offering free meals and fellowship from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. in Sacred Heart Hall. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)