Upgrades, changes form Cathedral Kitchen into ‘ministry of encounter’
Volunteers Ron Hagan, left, and Mary Harmon engage with those in need while serving food at the Cathedral Kitchen, a ministry of SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Indianapolis, on Nov. 18. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)
By Natalie Hoefer
It’s an unusually cold morning on Nov. 10, and Mary is bundled up as she enters the Cathedral Kitchen in Indianapolis.
“It’s the first place I come in the morning before I go about my day,” says Mary, a woman short in stature but warm in nature who calls the streets of Indianapolis her home.
She’s been coming to the Cathedral Kitchen, a ministry of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral Parish, since April of 2024. She continued to come this summer when food was served outside as the building was closed for maintenance and upgrades.
Changes were made to procedures, too—changes Mary notices now that the facility is reopened.
“There is a lot more order, and it’s more organized,” she says. She appreciates receiving a bag to place her food in and having “more nourishing fruit” options and “healthier choices.”
“And they call me by name now,” she says with a smile. “That’s very sweet.”
Just two days prior, SS. Peter and Paul rector Father James Brockmeier blessed the building during an open house event on Nov. 8.
The physical and procedural changes are all part of “doing our best in the mission of serving those who can least speak for themselves,” says Emily Colmenar, director of operations for SS. Peter and Paul.
Father Brockmeier agrees.
“It’s part of our dedication to the service of the poor,” he says. And the recent changes—including new partnerships providing free food—ensure that the nearly 100-year-old ministry “can continue for many years.”
‘We set up tables in the shade’
Once called the Cathedral Soup Kitchen, the ministry began by handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in 1928, Colmenar says. The ministry has “existed in some form or other since then.”
It moved to its current location in 1987—the basement kitchen of the parish’s former school, built in 1912.
Hunger never ends for the homeless. So, when the need for renovations and upgrades to the Cathedral Kitchen’s facility arose in June, the building was closed—but not the ministry. It continued to serve meals to people in need—called “neighbors”—following its 8:30-10 a.m., Monday through Friday schedule.
“We set up tables in the shade of the building and served our neighbors outside all summer long,” says Colmenar.
Without a kitchen, the ministry purchased food from a caterer and continued to utilize its partnerships with Second Helpings and Midwest Food Bank, both in Indianapolis, for free sandwiches, snacks and drinks.
Meanwhile, Colmenar saw to the building’s needs.
“I coordinated with contractors to improve some of the electrical systems and address some plumbing issues, and we had a cleaning company fully clean and sanitize the kitchen,” she says.
Then came the upgrades. Refrigeration was added, as well as “a hand-wash sink that gives us more flexibility for volunteers, and a vegetable-wash sink that expands our ability to process more food,” says Colmenar.
In August, Terrence Toon was hired as kitchen manager. He worked for decades in the food industry and restaurant management, and he had experience serving the hungry through the Emmaus Ministry of his parish, St. John the Evangelist in Indianapolis.
“Once we got the kitchen re-inspected by Marion County, our first goal was serving coffee inside the building while we were still serving food outside,” says Toon. That goal was met on Sept. 2.
By Sept. 15, the Cathedral Kitchen began operating entirely from inside its freshly spruced-up space. Nearly 3,630 neighbors were served in October.
‘It’s very important that we serve their dignity’
In addition to maintenance and upgrades, “We did a very hard look on how we serve our neighbors,” says Colmenar.
She explains that, because of mental health challenges and other issues many in the homeless population experience, “a lot of them do not have the skill set to do conflict resolution—they only have ‘escalate.’
“So, it’s very important that we serve their dignity by providing a place where they can come in and have a meal in peace.”
To create that environment, changes were made to the food-line flow and how the dining area functions.
“We also added a greeter at the front door,” says Colmenar. “What we have seen is just having a door greeter sets the tone of, ‘This is a safe place, you’re welcome here,’ so they may encounter Christ even if we never use the word.”
Jacob Perez has served as door greeter every morning since he started volunteering with the ministry in August.
“When I first got here, because of all the change, there was a lot of mixed opinions” among those he welcomed, says the member of St. John the Evangelist, a recent graduate and full-time construction design engineer.
Those opinions have become increasingly positive, says Perez.
“Throughout time, I’ve gotten a lot of really, really good feedback from them, especially that it’s more organized,” he says. “From the people I typically see that come in every day, I sense that they feel happy coming, because they now have a smile on their face.”
Toon also wanted to honor the dignity of those served at the Cathedral Kitchen—but from a different perspective.
“One of the important things for me is that we were able to offer some choices in what we’re serving,” he says. “For instance, today we had regular pretzels and spicy pretzels, and we had three kinds of fruit. I want to offer choice to people that don’t have many choices in their lives. There’s dignity in that.”
Toon is able to offer a variety of choices through another change: an expansion of the ministry’s partnerships.
Serving more people ‘through partnerships’
“We understand that, to have a sustainable future, the ministry needs a very different business model than what we were doing previously,” says Colmenar. “This is requiring us to take a look at how do we serve the poor in downtown Indianapolis while considering the operational efficiency of the Cathedral Parish.”
The answer has been found through partnerships.
High on that list is a ministry with experience feeding the hungry in Indianapolis: St. John the Evangelist’s Emmaus Ministry.
Development around the parish closest to the city’s center made it “no longer practical to serve food directly from our campus,” says St. John’s pastor, Father Timothy Wyciskalla. “This partnership allows the parishes of St. John and SS. Peter and Paul to join hands in our efforts to serve the poor of downtown Indianapolis.”
The partnership began when the Cathedral Kitchen reopened.
“We provide volunteers and funding,” Father Wyciskalla explains. “The funding jointly covers the kitchen manager position and other expenses required for the distribution of food. …
“We are proud to provide the much-needed support to keep this century-old institution of charity open and serving meals to those in need.”
Meanwhile, the existing partnerships with Second Helpings and Midwest Food Bank for free food were expanded.
In October alone, the two organizations provided a combined total of nearly 7,200 pounds of food, including produce, milk, boxed salads, beverages, snacks and more.
Second Helpings also provided 2,300 sandwiches to supplement the 3,600 made by volunteers at the Cathedral Kitchen.
And thanks to a new partnership with Papa John’s, “Wednesday is pizza day,” says Colmenar. The ministry served 400 slices of pizza donated by the franchise in October.
Lunch on Sundays plus meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas will still be provided by groups who have done so in the past.
Partnerships are the model moving forward, says Colmenar.
“There’s an operational efficiency, there’s a financial efficiency,” she says. “We can serve more people through partnerships than we can individually.”
‘A ministry of encounter’
Maintenance, upgrades, process changes and partnerships—they are all part of the merciful work of feeding the hungry by a ministry that turns no one away.
“The Cathedral Kitchen is one of the very few places that serves a daily meal in Indianapolis with absolutely no questions asked,” says Colmenar. “In many places … there is a barrier to entry of a ZIP code that you must live in or show an ID.”
Father Brockmeier notes the ministry is about far more than handing out food.
“It’s an opportunity for volunteers … to be the face of Christ to the poor and to experience the poor being the face of Christ to them,” he says.
Colmenar wholeheartedly agrees, calling the Cathedral Kitchen “a ministry of encounter.”
“When volunteers are handing food to people, that is a point of relationship contact—at every ‘Good morning,’ at every, ‘Hey, how you doing? Would you like an orange or banana?’ ” she says. “Or monitoring the dining room—that could possibly be a great opportunity for prayer.
“It’s that opportunity for relationships, that they can have a relationship with us, that we can understand their needs better as humans.”
The need for the ministry is increasing and will continue to do so, Colmenar adds.
While hot food is starting to be served again when possible, “We absolutely want to be serving a hot meal each day,” she says. “But we can’t do that if we don’t have 12 volunteers every morning, plus another two or three in the afternoons doing [food] prep.”
She admits not every part of feeding those in need involves direct contact.
“Making sandwiches, mopping floors, setting up, cleaning up—there are a lot of non-glamorous things that happen before and after” food distribution, says Colmenar. “And we have to have all of them.”
Mary says those “non-glamorous” touches are noticed and make a difference.
“I think there’s a lot less mess,” and people are more careful in throwing away their trash, she says. “And, now we have the bags to put food in, so that helps.”
On this particular day, hot food is not available at the Cathedral Kitchen. But Mary, bundled in a heavy winter coat, knitted scarf and thick gloves, doesn’t complain.
“I’m very grateful … for any food I get,” says Mary, cradling her disposable cup of hot tea.
She also appreciates “how they start the mornings with a prayer. That means a lot to me. It’s a really good way to ground people and be thankful.”
And Mary is grateful for volunteers who are “helpful” and “personable.”
“They always say hello to you every single day,” she says. “And they know me by name.”
(For more information about Cathedral Kitchen and how to volunteer, go to ssppc.org/cathedral-kitchen or e-mail cathedralkitchen@archindy.org.) †
