Join the Disciples Souper Bowl of Caring Team This Sunday!

Thursday, February 1, A.D. 2007

Do you often feel helpless in the face of so much suffering in the world? Is it just too overwhelming to know how to confront massive human needs such as hunger and poverty? Looking for an easy, immediate way to respond? Well, then, this weekend is your chance! It’s not too late to be a part of the Souper Bowl of Caring this upcoming Super Bowl Sunday. Inspired by a simple prayer spoken in a church in Columbia, South Carolina in 1988, “Lord, as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat,” the Souper Bowl of Caring began.

Instead of focusing all of our attention only on the game and the accompanying festivities, rally your youth group, Sunday School class, or the entire congregation to collect donations for this year’s Souper Bowl of Caring. Grab some soup or stock pots, stand at the sanctuary doors as folks leave the worship service on Sunday morning, and collect $1 per person to send to the Souper Bowl of Caring. Week of Compassion and the Souper Bowl have been long-term partners in the fight against hunger and poverty. We ask that you identify two organizations working to end hunger, one local and the other international, to which you would divide and send your collection. It’s that easy!

As of this morning, there are 453 Disciples churches registered for the annual Souper Bowl of Caring. That’s 128 more Disciples churches than last year! If you are a Disciples congregation planning to participate in the Souper Bowl this Sunday and have not registered officially, please do so today. We know that there are many more Disciples churches that have faithfully participated in the Souper Bowl of Caring each year but have not registered. Please make yourselves known! We want to celebrate all that Disciples are doing to contribute to this important endeavor. Nationwide, we have 18,259 groups registered. This is an extraordinary team effort across the country.

Can you imagine what would happen if the over 140 million people who watch the Super Bowl each year placed just $1 in the Souper Bowl of Caring soup pots after church on Feb. 4? Join our Disciples team!

Why Only $1?

$1, which is what we suggest people collect for the Souper Bowl of Caring, is certainly not a lot. But when we look more closely at the situation of most people in our world, $1 emerges as a very symbolic figure. Around the world, 1.2 billion of our neighbors live on less than $1 per day. Some of us can barely imagine what it would be like to have so little to spend.

In the Planning and Resource guide for this year’s Week of Compassion observance, we offer some interactive educational activities to help us ask the question, “Who is our neighbor?” more deeply. For example, you may want to take a look at the activity, “Can your household live on $1 a day?” as a way to engage your family or congregation in this year’s special offering theme.

What can you do with $1 a day?

Week of Compassion Map/Poster

Click here for the latest additions to the WOC interactive map/poster. For a complimentary copy of the WOC map/poster for your congregation, call the office at 317.713.2442 or send an e-mail to ecleveland@woc.disciples.org.