Since January of 2010, Chestnut Street Church (and now, Deep Water Community Church) along with several other community churches/ministries, have partnered together to operate a "Soup Kitchen" on the South end of Wadsworth on Friday evenings. We have been blessed with participants from the following groups:
* Chestnut Street Church, Wadsworth
* NOW, Church of Nazarene, Wadsworth
* Covenant of Grac
e, Copley
* Freshwater CMA, Wadsworth
* Garage - Youth for Christ, Wadsworth
* Grace Brethren, Bath/Norton/Medina
* Ikon, Wadsworth
* Northside Christian, Wadsworth
* Radiant Life, Wadsworth
* Crossroads Reimer, Wadsworth
* Sacred Heart, Wadsworth
* The Chapel, Wadsworth
* Various other community groups (schools, scouts, etc.)
* Wadsworth neighbors! IMPORTANT: We are closed on the FIRST FRIDAY of each month so neighbors are free to enjoy Wadsworth First Friday Community Gatherings. We have a short devotion & prayer at 6:00pm. We serve the meal and eat from 6:20 to 7pm. Cleanup from 7 to 7:15pm. There are many ways to serve! These include setup, cleanup, bringing food/drinks, serving food/drinks, sharing a devotion, leading prayer, sitting down with folks from community, sharing meal/conversation, and donations. In addition, money from donations has been utilized to go out and serve and share with others in the surrounding community. Please contact Frank/Elizabeth Fulop, Scott/Heather Hulet, Tom/Wendy Rydarowicz, or Neil/Sheryl Wichterman if you have questions or want more info (email and phone above)! We also utilize SignUp website (http://signup.com/go/zRRaUC) to for volunteer and food sign-ups! Click on website link above to register!
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The "CookStone" Story
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As you might imagine, there is a special story behind the name of this ministry; actually, a blend of 2 stories:
COOK: We decided to name this ministry after one of our founders, Keith Cook. Keith was a dear brother in Christ who lived in Wadsworth and attended one of our churches. He was present when God led several of us to take the step of Faith to kick-off His ministry. Keith’s excitement was contagious; he expected God to do great things! Keith lived on the South end of Wadsworth; he spent many hours walking the streets and dropping into other local businesses & ministries to invite others to the soup kitchen. Keith was at every Friday night meal/fellowship in the beginning; he loved to spend this time with people from our community. Within a year of our opening, Keith was tragically diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. It progressed quickly and we sadly had to say farewell to our brother a few short months later. During his last days, he would talk fondly about the soup kitchen and ask how everyone was doing. He was also overjoyed to know that one of his sons was attending regularly. STONE: In the Biblical account of the adulterous woman (John 8:1-11), the scribes/Pharisees brought the woman before Jesus, proclaiming that Moses commanded them to stone such women; and they asked Him what He had to say (Bible tells us they were doing this to test/trap Him). They were also ready with stones-in-hand. Jesus responded by saying, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” When they heard this, they dropped their stones and walked away. After this Jesus said 2 amazing things to this sinful woman. First, He asked, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She responded by saying, “No one, Lord.” Second, Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
We chose to include “Stone” in our name because we know that this story captures the Heart of our Lord with regard to each of us and how He would have us minister to our community. We are all sinners like the woman in this story. We are all under God’s condemnation, deserving punishment for our sin. Those “stones” are waiting for each of us (eternal death). But we have an amazing Savior Who loves us, Who gave His Life as a ransom/sacrifice for us:
2 Corinthians 5:21 - For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Christ died for you dear friend, to both save you from the condemnation that you rightfully deserve AND to give you the power (His indwelling Spirit/Power) to “go and sin no more”. This is what we remember when we think of those stones!
