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On Monday, the 4th September, 1995, volunteers from St Andrews did their first stint at the Soup Kitchen.

It all arose from the fact that my husband and I were representatives for St Andrews in CUMIC (Churches United Mission in Claremont), a now defunct Body which was a loose association of different churches in the Claremont area and which was involved in the St Saviour's Open Door and various other community related happenings. Unfortunately CUMIC disbanded because of lack of support and the Open Door at the same time. However, the Catholic Church, Our Lady of Help for Christians, had started to operate a Soup Kitchen in the Lansdowne Station Bicycle Shed, with the help of St Aidan's, the Lansdowne Methodist Church and Christ the King.

John and I were told that Christ the King wanted to give up their involvement and asked if St Andrews be interested in taking their place. We discussed this with Keith Griffiths, our Rector at the time, and he suggested that as we were both on Parish Council we should get their support but that we should suggest only helping on alternate Mondays. The rest is history. When we went to the parish we enrolled 33 helpers, to either make soup or to help at the Soup Kitchen itself. 10 if the original 33 still help! Since 1995. St Andrews has supplied about 100 litres of soup and bread for a hundred or so needy "clients" every alternate Monday lunchtime.

In late November we join the other churches to give our "clients" and others in need a Christmas Lunch, usually a very joyous affair and held either at St Aidan's or the Lansdowne Methodist Church. This will be repeated again this year on 16th November.

Johan Barnard assumed responsibility for managing our participation in the Soup Kitchen three years ago. He will be asking sometime in November for your further assistance in this wonderful effort. I can only say that you will never regret being one of us!

Hazel Hampton