Fairhill: Tabernacle Missionary Church Donates Food to Needy

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Loud shouts of jubilation amidst sounds of jangling tambourines reverberated throughout the quiet neighborhood of Fairhill last Saturday afternoon. A group of around 30 churchgoers danced and sang religious tunes on the corner of Cambria and Reece streets as a long line of people queued up with bags and carts in tow.

The event is a weekly food donation program hosted by Tabernacle Missionary Church Inc., known in Spanish as Iglesia Misinero el Tabernacle Inc. The Pentecostal church donates food to low-income residents every Friday afternoon and one Saturday a month from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Philabundance donates the majority of food to the church to give to the needy.

Judy Vicenty, a Fairhill native who has been the pastor of the church for the past 12 years, helps lead the weekly event. The non-profit donations have been feeding 200 to 300 people every weekend for over 10 years.

“There are people who are very grateful. For half the month people don’t have food, so what we gives helps a lot,” Vicenty said.

The ebullient Vicenty gave a Sabbath service from 10:30 a.m.to 12:30 p.m., and then led an outdoor sermon on the corner at 1 p.m.

Although the event is explicitly religious, its main focus is providing food to impoverished individuals. To qualify for the donated food, individuals must be 18-years-old, and the amount of food given varies depending upon the number of people in a household.

“Mainly everyone here is low-income, so everyone qualifies,” Vicenty said.

Jeremy Cardona, the church director, heads HOPE Prison Ministry, in which he takes his gospel message to prison inmates in the area. He also helped begin the food program, and heads other Church programs that provide meals to the homeless and amenities for senior citizens. “This is our passion, our desire, our mission, to help people in need,” Cardona said.

This past Saturday, members from the Church of God 7th Day Reform in Norristown entertained the crowd with gospel singing and dancing. Dervan Hunter, a church elder, explained their role in the event.

“We’re the inspirational part of the outreach,” Hunter said. “It’s not just to give food and clothing. It’s to share that Christ can change you.”

Patricia Revels, 56, a low-income resident of Fairhill, expressed her need for the food donations while she waited in line. “When you’re on a fixed income, it’s hard,” Revels said. “So I come here once a week.”

Vicenty believes that everyone in the neighborhood greatly benefits from the church’s efforts. “We’ve been blessed; we’re able to give to the community,” Vicenty said. “I know people are blessed, with what’s being done here.”