Feeding the Soul

Brian Coleman was 15 when he first felt the pressing need to help the needy.

He had just stepped out of a youth group meeting at his church, where the discussion centered on how Christians should respond to the problem of poverty and hunger, when he came across a homeless man, napping on the parish steps.

It was around supper time.

Coleman and the other youth group members pooled their spare change and bought the man a hamburger and fries. “He was clearly down on his luck, and he thanked us for the food,” Coleman said.

The exchange marked a pivotal point in Coleman’s life. “It got me thinking, ‘There’s clearly a need in Fullerton for a soup kitchen kind of ministry,’ ” he said. “That’s what started the process.”

In that summer of 1987, Coleman founded the soup kitchen operation at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Fullerton. He rounded up 100 volunteers and solicited donations from church parishioners.

With hearty, hot entrees, salads, desserts and volunteer servers, the dining room opened and five guests arrived that first Friday night. The number of diners doubled the next month and continued to multiply, turning the monthly feast into a weekly one.

Since then, the hungry have been served from 6 to 7 p.m. every Friday. Today, about 150 people show up for meals each week.

Coleman, now 26, was ordained a deacon at St. Andrew’s on Saturday in a ceremony that got parishioners on their feet, applauding.

“This is one of the happiest days of our lives,” Coleman’s mother, Rebecca Johnson, said. “It was at this church that he got his calling, and we are just so proud and glad that Brian has chosen to follow the call.”

In six months, Coleman will be ordained a priest. Meanwhile, he will live in Los Angeles and work as an assistant rector at St. James Church.

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During his ordination Saturday, Coleman vowed to serve all people, especially the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely. The Rev. Mark Shier, rector at St. Andrew’s and a priest for 22 years, gave him some advice.

“The only healthy way to lead is to be true to your integrity,” Shier said. “Pray. Be humble. Sensitive decisiveness is necessary and so is the ability to say, ‘I made a mistake, I’m sorry.’ Be patient. Be strong. Be courageous. Be loyal to your God, your people, your rector, your bishop. Be compassionate. . . . Don’t ever condescend. Always examine your motives. . . . Laugh lots. A good sense of humor endears you to almost everyone, including God.”

As part of the ritual, parishioners at St. Andrew’s who sponsored Coleman through seminary school and in his quest to become a deacon certified that Coleman is qualified for the priesthood.

“Dear friends in Christ, you know the importance of this ministry and the weight of your responsibility in presenting Brian for ordination to the sacred order of deacons,” said the Right Rev. Chester Talton, bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Los Angeles, who presided over the ceremony. “If any of you know any impediment or crime because of which we should not proceed, come forward now and make it known.”

Silence filled the steeple, and Coleman received the holy order, a new robe and a Bible. As the ceremony concluded, Coleman gave an enthusiastic final blessing: “Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the spirit.”

Coleman, who will deliver his first sermon as a deacon today at St. Andrew’s, was born in Texas and raised in Yorba Linda, where he lived with his mother, stepfather, Richard Johnson, older brother, Jeff Coleman, twin brother, Brett Coleman, and younger sister, Heather Johnson.

Even though he had passing thoughts of becoming a priest when he was a teen, he said: “I was just a normal kid. Sometimes, I didn’t even want to go to church. I wanted to be a lawyer, a judge, the president of the United States.”

But a church-goer, who was impressed by his efforts to help the poor, changed those thoughts with a simple question. “She asked me, ‘Have you ever considered the priesthood?’ ” Coleman said. “The question made me decide to pursue it.”

He graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Last week, he graduated from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill.

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On Friday, he was back in Fullerton, making a special appearance at his beloved soup kitchen. The doors opened at 6 p.m. as usual, but this time, Coleman introduced himself and led the blessing of the meal before the diners took their seats.

In the kitchen, he scooped out hefty portions of meat and pasta and walked them out to his guests.

As he looked out at the dining room, he reflected on his ministry’s impact.

“This is where my desire to be ordained came from,” Coleman said. “The Holy Spirit encourages us all to respond to people in need and just to be aware of our surroundings and not pass by when someone needs your help.”

Vernon Shelters, 81, who has been a volunteer in the soup kitchen for five years, said Coleman’s story is one of inspiration. “It’s terrific this kid had enough compassion for somebody else that he was willing to do something.”

The kitchen’s regulars had nothing but praise and appreciation for Coleman.

“Fifteen-year-old kids have lots of ideas, and this soup kitchen is an excellent example,” said Luke Robeaudeau, 49, who has been homeless for several years.

“I raise my hands every Friday when I come here and say, ‘Thank you, God,’ ” said Harry, a 45-year-old homeless man. “I am very grateful to this man who started this place.”

Coleman said it’s the church’s job to respond to society’s needy.

“I want people to feel important because they are important,” he said. “The gospel is very clear about the place of people who are displaced in society. Blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit the Earth. The first shall be the last and the last shall be the first. All these . . . point to a very important lesson about how we should treat the stranger and the homeless and the hungry and the oppressed--with dignity and love.”