“Only the pure of heart can make good soup” – Ludwig van Beethoven

People of all ages come together to share in the full life of East Liberty Presbyterian Church — singing, dancing, eating and praying — after school and throughout the evening on Wednesdays. Children and teens take part in free Hope Academy classes (including Tango, “Voices of Hope” vocal ensembles, Step Team and Sing & Dance to a Latin Beat); meanwhile, their families gather in the McKelvy room to do homework together, have a snack, play games, knit and crochet, work on crafts, and socialize. The McKelvy room brims with community and church folks, young and old, sharing a simple soup and bread supper at 5:30 pm before Taizé Sung Prayer worship service and club one sixteen dinner and Bible study.

Last October, ELPC member and Wednesday Connection volunteer soup-server, Paula Addlespurger, threw down the gauntlet with her homemade potato soup and inspired others to think about homemade soups that they might like to make and bring on Wednesdays. Since then, we’ve had caldo verde (a Spanish sausage, kale and potato soup), minestrone and Nancy Klancher’s famous mushroom barley. The recipes for these homemade soups, with photographs and drawings by the children, will be collected throughout the year and put into a cookbook that will be sold to raise money for next year’s Wednesday Connection programs.

If you would like to donate soup and/or a recipe to be included in the cookbook, please call Norma Meyer at 412-441-3800, ext. 11, and tell her what kind of soup you are bringing and on which Wednesday night (you will need to deliver it by 4:30 pm on that day). Our soup cooker/warmer holds one gallon of soup. Please send along the recipe and a story about why this soup is your favorite. Does it evoke special memories for you? Is it a family/ethnic tradition? Or did you create it yourself? If so, what inspired your creation?

Please join us on any Wednesday, before Taizé, for soup, bread and fellowship. Everyone is welcome.