SF Calvary Starts Breakfast,
Sleeping-Bag Giveaway

San Francisco -- January 9, 2007

Calvary UMC in San Francisco, which has languished in congregational numbers in recent years, appears to be on a rebound, as evidenced from two new major programs to help the homeless.

The Rev. Anthony Jenkins, a student at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, has been the student supply pastor there since last July 1. Under him the average worship attendance has surged from an average 26 in 2005 to an average 40 for all of 2006, with a lean more toward 50 at the end of the year. The congregation voted him a raise from quarter-time to half-time four months into the appointment.

Rev. Jenkins started a Sunday morning breakfast program in September, and he emphasizes that it is an all-you-can-eat affair -- of bacon, eggs, sausage, French toast, grits, orange juice and coffee. "It's not just a plate. We feed them until they are full," he stresses. The largely homeless guests are offered bathroom facilities and clean-up time as well. The breakfast attendance was 5 the first Sunday, but now is 50 to 75 a Sunday.

The attendance grew largely word-of-mouth, Jenkins said, from the homeless network, and with a growing youth population attending that has handed out flyers. The San Francisco Examiner lists the Sunday breakfast every second Saturday of the month, according to Judy Sison, the assistant at Calvary. Channel 2 News did a feature on the breakfasts in early January.

The volunteer cook is Markum Knight, a friend of Jenkins and now a Calvary member who came to the church after Jenkins' appointment. Jenkins says he does most of the food shopping on Fridays, but the church also has back-up supplies for any number. He solicits outside donations for the purchases instead of using Calvary money.

On Sunday, January 14, Calvary will start a second program for the homeless called "Keeping Warm." It will be a giveaway of sleeping bags. "I think the Mayor and the City Council have given their best efforts to find shelter for people, but it's still falling short," Jenkins said. "Our goal is to give away 100 sleeping bags a Sunday."