Our participation in feeding programs began in 1987 with our support of the Casa Maria Free Soup Kitchen. Every four week we make nearly 1,500 sandwiches, deliver them to the soup kitchen, prepare soup and help to serve lunch as part of the 500 bagged lunches and 150 bags of groceries distributed seven days per week at this Catholic Worker Community ministry.
Our “hands on” experience of feeding some of the neediest members of our community includes the preparation of a complete dinner from entree to dessert once a month in our Rincon kitchen. Volunteers then deliver it to one of Primavera Foundation’s transitional housing units and dine with the residents while listening to their stories. The Primavera foundation helps men, women and families who are homeless transition to a stable lifestyle by providing safe, affordable housing and steady employment. |
Matthew 25: 35-37: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was a thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me,” and Jeremiah 17: 7-8 “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord, they shall be like a tree planted by the water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit,” are Rincon’s litmus tests for living into Jesus’ teachings.
We are a member church supporting the efforts of Interfaith Community Services (ICS), one of Tucson’s premier nonprofits providing food, clothing, education and financial support to individuals and families needing emergency assistance while regaining financial independence. Our support has included gifts of money, food, school supplies, Christmas gifts for families and volunteers. In addition, ICS, leases some of our office space for a few of their programs.
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In addition to feeding the most vulnerable, Rincon also partners with community organizations and groups, creating a network that spread its roots “like a tree beside the stream.” We sell Café Justo Coffee and purchase it for use during our after-worship coffee hours. This Chiapas Mexico registered Coffee Cooperative roasts, packages and exports the coffee and offers health insurance costs for the growers, employee and their families.
In 2014, Rincon was the benefactor of a generous legacy from Gertrude Scofield. Because of Gertrude’s gift Rincon has been able to offer grants to a number of community groups including:
Pima Prevention Partnership (PPP) is a nationally recognized non-profit agency that specializes in helping underserved populations. Teen Cuisine teaches life skills to at-risk youth. A Scofield grant paid for their use of our kitchen and youth room twice a week for a year.
BorderLinks is a nonprofit educational organization based in Tucson, Arizona that connects people to the reality of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands and immigrant communities in the United States. A Scofield grant helped them continue their work.
Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest CENTER. A Scofield grant helped them to provide for the socio-emotional, academic and material needs of refugee youth scholars in Tucson.
Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation – Anti-Violence Project addresses the broad range of needs of LGBTQ survivors of violence. A Scofield grant helps the organization to supply household goods, furniture and essential commodities as needed in each individual case to increase the sense of safety, dignity, and self-worth by reducing stress and creating a stable environments and providing a jump-start towards self-sufficiency.
Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest CENTER. A Scofield grant helped them to provide for the socio-emotional, academic and material needs of refugee youth scholars in Tucson.
ProMex Group offers loans, savings and financial education to disadvantage Mexicans to alleviate poverty and economically forced migration. A Scofield grant helped fund some of their low interest loans.
Consider, “Who are the neediest people among us today? How is the earth and this particular place calling to us to help, heal, feed, shield, and be present? How might we better be church to those who do not know about or will not come to us?
We answer with our participation in feeding programs, gifts of time, money and space to support ministry partners near and far.
We answer with our participation in feeding programs, gifts of time, money and space to support ministry partners near and far.
