I was blessed to discover our unique Faith Cafe almost 18 months ago. What an opportunity it has been to work with very dedicated Saint John’s Episcopal members and experience where “the rubber meets the road” within this outreach ministry.

Saint John’s, along with five other South Tampa Christian churches, serves a sit down hot meal with beverages and dessert for “anyone” between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., seven days a week, 52 weeks a year at our “owned” location: 1340 North Clearview Avenue. Saint John’s provides volunteers for the 3rd and 4th Fridays of each month.

I arrive at 10:30 a.m.:
Nick, our crew chief, has already gotten the coffee urn ready to be plugged in and is deciding what leftovers (from prior days meals) he can use for “seconds.” Last month the “Mardi Gras soup with hot dogs” was a very big hit.

Laura is loading ice for the drinks as Peg cuts up the bread and gets the butter from the fridge. David is rolling plasticware in a napkin.

I go set up the chairs at each of the ten tables. John or Anne or Kathleen arrive from Metropolitan Ministries with the hot food containers. We scurry to set them set up for serving.

Sally is keeping it all together for us – she has seen it all. When we have enough volunteers, Sally also manages the  Faith Cafe shower facilities. Kathleen, Ellen, and Lynn organize the coffee service and prepare the dessert trays to serve our guests.

11:20 a.m.:
We are about ready. A line is forming outside, the coffee has perked and Nick gathers everyone for announcements and prayer.

11:30 a.m.:
We welcome our first guests to come inside,  and choose a beverage and a place to sit/dine. We serve them a plated hot meal (followed by Nick’s famous seconds) and dessert. We serve between 50-90 guests in an hour. It is the fastest hour of my week if we are busy. We are a smooth well-oiled machine.

12:30 p.m.:
The Faith Cafe  doors are closed and most of our guests are gone. Everyone is already in cleanup mode and knows exactly what to do. Nick and Sally have us so organized that by 1:00 p.m. all surfaces have been wiped down, dishes are clean, chairs are put away, the last garbage is put in the dumpster, and Sally turns off the lights.

The ask:
Faith Cafe needs a few good volunteers from Saint John’s to help us provide a consistent and better experience for our guests. If you think you have the “right stuff” to join us and want a very rewarding experience please contact Sally Wiley: wiley48sm@gmail.com or 813.244.4497 or visit www.faithcafetampa.org for more information or to volunteer.

Jack M. Wyatt II, Saint John’s Board Representative to Faith Cafe, 813.789.6445