“The need for food in Southwest Philly is great, ” advised Rev. Cean James, director of CityLights ministry and pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship. CityLights has carried on a variety of food ministries in this area for many years, supplying food to the Sherwood Church food pantry and New Spirit Community Church for several decades.
CityLights is an urban-suburban faith-based partnership organized by Wayne Presbyterian Church some 25 years ago. It presently operates out of The Common Place at 58th Street and Chester Avenue.
For the past 9 years, members of Wayne’s Men’s Fellowship collect day-old baked goods two day a week from bakeries located along the mainline. These currently include the Bagel Factory in Bryn Mawr, Einstein’s Bagels in Paoli, Elegance Cafés in Wayne and Paoli and the Spring Mill Bakery in Wayne. The bagels and rolls are delivered to the kitchen at Outley House men’s shelter in Southwest and, slathered with jam, grace the breakfast tables over the weekend. Portions are also sent out to other homeless shelters operated around Philadelphia by SELF Inc.
