Submitted by Pastor Ivan Sevillano lead pastor at Heritage UMC
Pastor Ivan Sevillano, lead pastor at Heritage UMC (formerly Bowen & Wesley UMC), says every week brings the joy of seeing neighbors gather around food and faith. At Heritage UMC, the church’s food programs serve more than four hundred households, providing nourishment not just for the body but for the spirit.
Every Sunday morning at their Trinity site, Heritage UMC provides delicious hot breakfasts for their brothers and sisters living on the streets of Los Angeles. Volunteers visit nearby unhoused camps to personally invite people to join them for a hearty meal prepared by Mrs. Shellie Brown, a committed member of the church who has faithfully arrived at 6 a.m. every Sunday for the past 25 years. During the week, Mrs. Brown and other volunteers also prepare hundreds of brown bags filled with lunches and goodies for the community.
At Heritage UMC’s Main Street location, more than four hundred households receive a complete box of food every week, from chicken to meat to a variety of fresh vegetables. These essential items provide physical nourishment and the ministry is grateful to support all who need them, especially members of the immigrant community facing urgent needs.
“But the real gift isn’t just the food, it’s the gift of coming together,” Pastor Ivan Sevillano explains. As people share their joys and pains, these services help the church build deeper connections through worship and fellowship, including special services for the unhoused and Latino communities. For this African American United Methodist Church, serving the community with open arms is a true blessing.
If your church has a food ministry, we encourage you to:
- Post about your food ministry on social media and tag the conference on Facebook or Instagram, and tag Feeding America on Facebook or Instagram.
- Share your story with Cal-Pac Communications at cpco@calpacumc.org.
People across the country can get involved by:
- Donate to Feeding America, where your donations will be matched through the month of September.
- Sign the pledge to call on lawmakers to make ending hunger a priority.
- Volunteer at a local food bank.
- Start or join a feeding ministry at your church.
