Chicken Soup and College Ministry

You likely have seen the story that CBS News has done about the Jewish Rabbi at The Rohr Center for Jewish Life at Arizona State University.  If you have not, the story is basically that they make and deliver homemade chicken soup to any student who is sick.  Parents and anyone can go on line to their site and order this for a sick student....at no cost.

The CBS story showed the Rabbi and his wife making the chicken soup and showed a mom who lives across the country who had ordered it for her daughter who was sick.  The container of soup has on it a label telling the name of the ministry and their website.  They indicated that they normally averaged delivering about 15 a week.  Likely, that number will go up after today!  While it is free, there is a place to click on their website where you can make a donation.  My guess would be that most parents do so.  It would be interesting to know how much they receive.

But, my point is, what a great idea!  I remember many years ago being sick in my dorm room with strep throat thinking there was a good chance I would die and that would probably be a good thing.  There was a knock at the door and it was my BSU Director holding a cup of soup from The Wig Wam (a student eatery in the next building).  Wow...it was wonderful.

Flu season is coming.  Should we have some sort of chicken soup ministry?  Is it an outreach idea?  Could we have a "Flu Bag" that goes to any student that we hear about that is sick?  Is that a fund raiser that similar to "Final Exam Care Packages" that are marketed to parents with profits going to Summer Missions?

I also just like the idea that they are trying to help college students.  Isn't that a big part of what we are all about?  Many of our ministries have nursing students involved.  Would they like to lead out in a ministry in helping sick students?

Very seldom do I hear what is really a new idea.  Today, I did.  I think new ideas ought to stir us to think new ideas.

"Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."  James 5:14

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