News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Acts of Faith: 2004

October 1, 2004 Scott Lewis
"There's a need for a lot of people and we try to take care of it," Corky Whatley said of those she serves as a volunteer at The Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Whatley is the Day Captain on Wednesdays at the 24-year-old volunteer operation in downtown Raleigh. In the early years of the kitchen, which recently moved to a new space as part of the church's overall renovation and expansion, all they had to offer was soup and maybe a sandwich. Today, however, they are able to offer various entres, vegetables, salads and desserts each day. Whatley is a retired school cafeteria supervisor and has run the kitchen's operation one day a week for 14 years. The kitchen is currently serving an average of 267 meals - up 11 percent in the past two months - in their daily hour of feeding the public. "I've learned how to make a meal out of nothing," Whatley said. She said she's learned a lot from some of the people she's worked with and served over the years. "Some of them are pleasant and some are a pain in the butt," she said.
About This Project


Ethan Hyman
"Acts of Faith" explores the different belief systems that co-exist in the Triangle area. Ten years of heavy migration has brought many new faiths to the region, turning the Bible Belt home of Billy Graham into a spiritual coat of many colors. Mosques, Buddhist and Hindu temples, Sikh Gurudwaras, synagogues and scores of Christian churches have become spiritual and social centers for a radically changing population. The demographic shift has pushed congregations to find innovative ways to keep their members while attracting new arrivals. "Acts of Faith" was born as a way to show this new religious diversity and analyze the role spirituality plays in people's daily lives.


Pailin Wedel
When covering an event for Acts of Faith, we look for situations that evoke strong emotion and try to bring readers into the moment. Though holidays and major celebrations are important, we also look for unexpected expressions of faith and quieter moments of solitary exploration. We hope to give readers insight into the breadth and depth of faith by showing how people incorporate it into their everyday lives.


Ted Richardson
For two years, Sher Stoneman and Susana Vera produced this column. In 2004, they handed it over to Ethan Hyman, Scott Lewis and Lisa Lauck. In 2005, Ted Richardson replaced Scott Lewis on this project. In 2006, Pailin Wedel replaced Lisa Lauck.

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