Supper House
All are welcome! Supper House serves meals
Monday through Friday from 4:00 pm until 5:20 pm
Supper House Snapshots:
Sharing Stories…
Everyone who visits Supper House has a story and sometimes they just want to share it with someone.
A young woman and her three young children were enjoying their supper one night and struck up a conversation with a server. When asked if this was the first time she had visited Supper House, she said yes, as she had just recently moved to the area to live with her ailing mother who could no longer take care of herself. She shared that it was a difficult move, both financially and hard for the children. She barely had enough money to take care of her children, and now was trying to help her mother as well. She and her children were enjoying a nourishing supper and planned to return again.
Sometimes our guests come to Supper House for a short time when there is a need in their life. A new guest to Supper House shared her need with a volunteer one evening when the server noticed she was a new face and sitting alone. She explained that she was a widow and lived alone, barely making it on her Social Security check. She has a son whom she hasn’t seen in ten years who lives in Louisiana and her money wouldn’t stretch far enough for her to buy a plane ticket to go see him. She was trying to save a little at a time out of her food money to buy that plane ticket. She wasn’t able to save much until she heard about Supper House and now comes to Supper House a few times a week for a good hot meal and has been able to put away a little more each week. She not only enjoys the food, but has made some friends and looks forward to the fellowship she has received.
Filling a need…
Imagine not only worrying about where you and your family will sleep at night, but also trying to make sure they have a hot, nourishing meal each day. That was the problem one homeless family that visited Supper House was facing. What a blessing it was for them to find a place like Supper House where they could walk right in and sit down to a good nourishing meal with no questions asked and no expectation of payment.
And then there was the young mother with three children who lost her job of 20 years due to downsizing. She found a new job, but no benefits for 90 days and a couple weeks before a paycheck. Supper House allowed her to “get by” til then.
Volunteers need prayer too…
As many of you know, we have a prayer request box that our guests use when they want us to pray for them. We were reminded by one of our guests that they pray for us too. One evening when onE of our Methodist churches was serving, a Muslim man said to one of the servers, “God bless you Methodists for doing this, I pray for you every morning.”
Supper House Celebrates a Twelfth Birthday…
The extreme heat did not dampen the spirits of the 133 guests who attended the Annual Summer Party celebrating the twelfth birthday of Supper House on Tuesday, July 19, 2011. A buffet dinner of brats, hot dogs, beans, pasta salad, and tossed salad, with a very popular sundae bar for dessert was enjoyed by all. Calvary Church served our guests which included many familiar faces amoung those attending.
We give thanks to our Lord for his faithfulness to Supper House over these past twelve years and to the 26 churches, donors, and businesses who so generously have given us their support.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUPPER HOUSE!
A Special Thanks to Special Donors….
- The Grand Haven White Pines 8th Grade basketball team, coached by Bob Whipsky, have a fundraiser every year and gives the money they raise to different charities in the area. Again this year, they selected MAP Supper House as one of the recipients of the money they raised. These young women enthusiastically participate in the fundraising and top it off by coming down to the Supper House to serve our guests supper when they present the check. We at Supper House thank them not only for their generosity, but their enthusiasm and cheerfulness toward our Supper House guests.
- When St. Patrick’s Church of Grand Haven held their annual “Rice Bowl” Fundraiser this spring, they decided to donate a very generouse portion of the proceeds to MAP Supper House. On June 2, Pam Stevens, Sally Moser, and Elaine Lufkin, Rice Bowl Coordinator, visited Supper House and presented a check to Donna Gurzynski, Supper House Coordinator. While there, they learned more about the history of Supper House and how it operates. They concluded their visit with a tour of the dining room and kitchen area by Brenda Coleman, our Supper House cook and Kitchen Director. Thank you St. Patrick’s Church. Your support will help feed the hungry and disadvantaged in the Muskegon and Muskegon Heights areas.
- MAP Supper House would also like to thank the Women’s Division of the Chamber of Commerce for their contribution recently to our ministry. With growing numbers and increased food costs, donations like theirs make it possible for us to meet the ever increasing needs in this area during these difficult economic times. Thank you Women’s Division members for your generosity.
Supper House is in need of Paper Products. The 10-1/2 inch round styrofoam plates are used along with the 8 oz. styrofoam cups and the heavy duty plastic tableware. Gordon Foods is a good source for these products. Donations in any amount would be greatly appreciated.
The following churches currently serve meals at Supper House one day a month:
Temple United Methodist Church
Lake Harbor United Methodist Church
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
McGraft Memorial Church
Central United Methodist Church
Covenant Community Reformed Church
Community United Methodist Church
Holton United Methodist Church
First Presbyterian Church of Muskegon
First Christian Reformed Church
Grand Haven Church of the Dunes
Lakeside United Methodist Church
Trinity Lutheran Church
Beulah Baptist Church
1st Presbyterian Church of Grand Haven
Westwood Reformed Church
St. Gregory Episcopal Church
First Christian Science
Ravenna United Methodist Church
Mona Shores Baptist Church
Wolf Lake United Methodist Church
Harbor Unitarian-Universalist Congregation
First Evangelical Lutheran Church
Unity Reformed Church
Congregation B’Nai Israel
Forest Park Covenant
Spring Lake Wesleyan Church
Unity Church of Muskegon
Girl Scouts
Boy Scouts
