Lenten Soup Supper

Prayer • Community • Simple Meal • Charitable Giving

St. Mary’s annual Lenten Soup Supper offers a time of prayer and “fasting” on a simple meal of delicious soup homemade by parishioner Phil Micciche and friends in Howley Hall Gym.  Each year donations are collected to support a different social cause.  Everyone lends a hand to help make the soup, set the table, and wash the dishes, bringing us together as community.  All parishioners of all ages are invited!

The Soup Supper gathers us around the three traditional pillars of Lenten observance:  Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.

Prayer during Lent is meant to draw us closer to God.

Fasting is one of the most ancient practices linked to Lent as an aid to prayer.  As we simplify our meal, we are mindful of those who are forced to fast by poverty, those who suffer from the injustices of our economic and political structures, and those who
are in need for any reason.

Almsgiving is a sign of our care for those in need and an expression of our gratitude for all that God has given to us. Works of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the Christian way of life.

Social Themes We Have Explored at the Soup Supper

The Lenten Soup Supper begins with a time for prayer in the church followed by the soup supper in Howley Hall.  During the evening, a brief program invites parishioners of all ages to reflect on a social theme.  Here are some of the themes that have been presented over the years by a variety of church groups and community agencies, from the Peace and Justice Council and JustFaith Alumni, to St. Mary’s school children, and the Junior High and High School WAV groups:

2000  Third-World Debt Relief
2001  Ending Hunger and Homelessness in Silicon Valley
    (Share A Meal Program)
2002  Poverty in America
2003  World Hunger (Bread for the World)
2004  Fair Trade Coffee
2005  Child Labor and Sweatshops
2006  Sister Parish/Sister School in Pascagoula, Mississippi
2007  Clean Water for Impoverished Communities
    (WaterPartners International)
2008  Invisible Children of Uganda 
2009  Santee Mission of East San Jose

For more information about St. Mary’s Lenten Soup Supper contact the Pastoral Care and Community Ministry Office at (408) 354-4061 ext 121.