[This article appears in the November/December 2020 issue of Boston Spirit magazine.]
The Friday Night Supper Program (FNSP) has a simple mission: to provide a warm, nutritious meal to Boston’s hungry, homeless and low-income population every Friday night.
Founded in 1984, the motivation behind the original effort was the devastating rise in HIV/AIDS cases in Boston at that time, as well as the increasing number of homeless individuals—particularly gay men. However, their doors are, and have always been, open to anyone.
The project depends on numerous volunteers, many of whom are members of the two founding organizations, the Arlington Street Church, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, and Dignity Boston, a community of LGBTQI Catholics. These dedicated folks do everything from serving meals and washing dishes to serving on FNSP’s board of directors.
The newest board member is Patrice Keegan, the former director of Boston Cares and currently a senior fellow at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. She is also a long-time member of Arlington Street Church.
In talking about what drew her to the church so many years ago, she says, “Like LGBTQ people from many faith traditions, I struggled to reconcile what is best about being Catholic with the Church’s condemnation of our community. Marching past Arlington Street Church during my first Pride event in the late ’70s and hearing the bells ring out joyfully, I lost it. A lot of people did. In our wildest dreams, who ever imagined a church validating who we are?”
“Arlington Street Church, rooted in social justice and home to Friday Night Supper Program, is my spiritual anchor,” she continues. “Volunteers from Boston Cares have been FNSP stalwarts for 15 years. Joining the FNSP Board has been one way to unify my personal, spiritual and professional commitments to creating a more compassionate and just society. FNSP’s mission is straightforward and our operation is lean. Serving our guests as best we can is our North Star.”
The most recent addition to the volunteer effort has come from Gay for Good, a national organization whose Boston chapter has sent members to serve food as well as create an Amazon Wish List Fundraiser for emergency supplies.
Traditionally, the dinner—a nutritious and delicious three-course meal consisting of soup, dinner and dessert—has been served family-style in the lower level of the church, and hosts approximately 130 guests each Friday. Every other Friday, a Guest Clothing Closet is open, where guests can get clothes, shoes, toiletries and other basic essentials.
With the arrival of COVID-19 back in March, FNSP quickly transitioned from a sit-down meal to a “to-go” meal service to ensure the safety of staff, volunteers and guests. CDC and local health agency safety guidelines are followed strictly. Volunteers offer comforting words and “masked” smiles to guests. The project has started offering such “emergency” supplies as masks, hand sanitizer and soap, and additional nonperishable food items are available. Meals are served from the front foyer of the church and guests line up outside with appropriate social distancing.
All signs point to the Friday Night Supper Program’s mission continuing to be an important one. As one of the oldest homeless dinner programs in Boston, FNSP has served thousands of warm, healthy meals every Friday night, serving on holidays and through snow storms, power outages and pandemics, to anyone in need of a hot meal—in a dignified environment.
As long-time volunteer Peggy Burns says, FNSP is “social justice in action.”
More: ascboston.org, dignityboston.org, gayforgood.org/boston
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