Last week, the Methodist congregation on the Via XX Settembre in Rome celebrated its “Breakfast Time” ministry with people who sleep in the streets in the neighborhood of the church.
This article, written by Marta D’Auria, appears in the Italian Protestant publication, Riforma.
On Sunday, February 23, the Methodist Church on Via XX Settembre in Rome celebrated the seventh year of its “Breakfast Time” ministry, which serves breakfast to the homeless in the neighborhood of the church every Sunday.
Every Sunday morning at 6:30 am, about 30 volunteers meet in the church’s community hall to prepare a hot breakfast that is then taken to the homeless who live in the open or in special shelters within a mile or so of the church.
During their journey of 2 to 3 miles, the volunteers offer coffee, hot milk, and a bag with a sandwich, a fruit, a snack, a napkin, a packet of paper tissues, and a small bar of soap. Sometimes they also give out clothing or, when the weather is cold, blankets.
Sunday’s celebration included a special service and a community lunch, followed by the presentation of a photo exhibition titled “Who am I in Rome?” that was assembled by several clients of the Breakfast Time ministry.
“Through their photographs, our street friends tell us not only how they arrived in Rome but also how they perceive their place in this city where it is often difficult to live,” said Brazilian Methodist pastor Eliad Dias Dos Santos, who has been in Italy since 2022 working on a project sponsored by the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, Opcemi (the Italian Methodist board), and the Otto per Mille program of the Union of Italian Methodist and Waldensian Churches.
Pastor Dos Santos said, “We are working to create a welcoming space in the church where homeless people can tell their stories, including, if they wish, where they come from and what they are doing in Rome.”
In the last two years, a social worker and a psychologist have also been part of the project and various activities have been proposed, such as a course on how to create a podcast in which street sisters and brothers can talk about themselves and their ideas and dreams for their lives.
Currently, there are almost thirty people involved in the “Breakfast Time” project. “The group of volunteers is growing,” says Mirella Manocchio, pastor of the Methodist church on Via XX Settembre. Pastor Manocchio is already president of Opcemi and, in this role, a promoter of the Breakfast Time ministry. Pastor Manocchio says that the volunteers in the Breakfast Time ministry include Italian and Filipino members of the Methodist congregation as well as brothers and sisters from nearby Baptist, Waldensian and Methodist churches, and students and professors from the Waldensian Faculty of Theology.
Pastor Manocchio recalls the various initiatives launched in recent years as a result of the “Breakfast Time” ministry, such as the photography course, a theater workshop, and a concert for Christmas. “A few years ago, we also prepared a Christmas lunch for the homeless. It was a beautiful experience which, unfortunately, due to limited space, we have been unable to repeat. If we had a larger kitchen, we would offer more community lunches. Our desire is that our congregation becomes more and more not only a space for welcoming, for refreshment, but also for mutual exchange and shared reflection leading to spiritual growth for all, including congregation members and friends on the street.”
