Breakfast At Center Church

Location: Hartford, Connecticut

Date: Saturday, December 28, 2013; 7:45-10:15 am

As is my custom over Christmas, I would be visiting my friends in Connecticut.  This year I had made a deal with a friend in Chicago, wherein we would each volunteer at the place we were travelling to. I looked at the 'Hands On Hartford' website – a similar organization as Chicago Cares – but couldn’t find anything on it for the weekend that I would be there.  So I called them and while they did not have a program for the day I wanted, they directed me to Center Church and said that I could volunteer directly with them, while giving me a contact number.  I called them and spoke with Rebecca, the volunteer coordinator for the church, and she said that they could definitely use my help at their Saturday breakfast for the homeless.  This would be my first foray into volunteering outside of Chicago.

Center Church Hartford

The first problem was getting there since unlike Chicago, Harford and neighboring townships are not well known for their public transportation.  Fortunately for me my buddy was able to lend me his car and while everyone else in the household slept that Saturday morning, with GPS in hand, I drove to downtown Hartford and found the place where I was supposed to be.  I was looking for the entrance, when I saw a lady walking in through a small doorway.  I told her that I was there to volunteer and she introduced herself as Laura, a fellow volunteer for this mornings project.  I went inside and met with Rebecca, who directed me to the kitchen where some folks had already started working.  Although Rebecca was the volunteer coordinator, the lady in charge was Enid.  She is the Church’s site representative and has a no nonsense approach to everything.  She was ensuring everyone was on point and doing their tasks. 

My butter

Laura asked me to cut the butter/margarine/vegetable oil sticks into small slices and arrange them on  plates so that we could serve the guests a piece each.  She had given me several packs and when I asked how many I should cut, she said all of it!  I started opening the packs and each of them had 4 sticks, which I decided to cut into 8 pieces each.  I washed my hands, put on gloves, grabbed a knife and got down to it.  Around me were 4 middle-aged couples, including Laura and her husband, and all of them seemed to know each other.  One of the gentlemen approached me and introduced himself as Gary.  When I told him my name, he had some difficulty in getting it right, but was determined enough and said that we should get re-introduced each time we crossed paths.  I said that there was a trick to asking someone his or her name when you had forgotten.  Sometimes people may get offended when asked again and if you sense that as they repeat their name, say, “Oh, I meant your last name”.  Gary enjoyed that a lot and I knew we were going to get along well.  I was cutting a lot of butter and the plates were getting full, following which I would transfer them to the refrigerator and continue with another one.  Elsewhere other components of the breakfast were being assembled, such as boiled eggs, sausages, pancakes, oatmeal and coffee.  Besides the 4 couples, one teenage girl had come with her guardian to volunteer, along with another young man.  I heard Enid say to him that he was on “bathroom duty”, and initially I though it meant cleaning, but it turned out to be something totally different, something more disturbing and important. 

Most of the butter had been cut and so I went outside and saw Gary guarding the door to the kitchen and the serving area.  The guests had started assembling in the dining room and his job was to prevent them from walking in before the food had been arranged for serving.  He told me that there was a guard at the bathroom door since some of the people outside were pedophiles and have escorted young kids into the bathroom.  This was unheard of in all the places that I have volunteered in and I told him that.  But the fact that they needed to take precautions here meant that it had happened before. He talked about how some men haven't found "Christ", and then corrected to say "faith".  I said that I had no problems with the terminology, but knew what he was saying.  Wow, I’m glad Keith doesn’t have to deal with this at ‘Wells Street Café’.  We chatted about my job and he was particularly interested in Solar Energy and I was telling him about my experiences, when they announced that we were ready to serve. 

I was to be one of the servers and took my place in the assembly line.  Unlike places where runners would deliver the food at the table, over here the guests would come in with their numbers and start at one end with pancake and syrup, followed by the boiled egg and sausage, then tangerine, a bagel, the sliced butter, oatmeal and finally a small candy.  My task was to hand out the bagel and butter and why not - after all I had cut it!  People started coming in and I started plating depending with gloved hands.  There were three types of bagels – raisin, plain and whole grain.  Unless people asked for a specific type, I was randomly selecting and plating.  And some were specific in what they wanted, like a lady who wanted the butter put in her oatmeal in a specific way.  As far as the butter was concerned, I had done my best to be consistent, but not all of the pieces were symmetric and some were a bit thicker than the others.  When one gentleman got a bigger piece from me, he beamed from ear to ear and said; “Now that’s what I’m talking about”. 

Part of the assembly line

The line was moving fast and I thought that we would be done soon and have lot of food left over.  However I learned that the dining room couldn’t hold everyone and so some people were still waiting outside for the second seating.  Knowing that more were to come I got the remaining packs of butter from the refrigerator and started cutting them as well, while serving the new group that was coming in.  On projects like these I am usually amazed at some of the people that I meet, and who despite their hardships have a very good attitude towards everything.  One such gentleman was in a wheelchair and needed help in getting his food to the table.  When I helped him he was very thankful, as were several other folks.  One kid thanked us for food and asked if we had a spare bus ticket to anywhere, saying that he had been stuck in Hartford for two days.  Despite all this time and things I have seen and experienced, I always get reminded that for some people basic things in life are a monumental challenge.

The dining area

We had to make some more oatmeal and I suggested that we add butter in our preparation and which was news to Laura.  I said that butter makes everything better and convinced her to incorporate two big cubes in it.  Despite all my efforts to get rid of it, we were still left with two huge plates of butter after all the guests had been served.  Laura packaged in trays and said that she would take it to her church.  All of the 4 couples were from a congregation and one couple was engaged in playful banter throughout the morning, and which livened things up for us. I wish I have that kind of relationship with someone when at their age. We gave away the remaining bagels to a woman with kids and then it was time to clean my plates, take a group picture and leave.  Enid thanked us all and asked for suggestions. Almost everyone said that we should try fit more tables or seats so that people should be spared waiting in the cold outside. I thanked everyone, including Rebecca for the opportunity.  It was her last day as well, meaning that I was lucky that she was able to get me in.  Gary said that it had been a pleasure serving with me, though the pleasure had been all mine.  I had volunteered in Hartford because of a promise to a friend and because I wanted to do something over this holiday break.  In doing so I had met some of the loveliest people that I have had the privilege of working with.  I hope I get to return someday and serve with them again.  A little over a year ago I was struggling to meet good people that I could relate to.  Now, I find them on every street.