Longtime Center of Hope Breakfast Ministry Leader Passes Spatula to New Leader
(Photo courtesy of Donna Podgorny and Heather Carpenter)
For 10 years (minus three years off for COVID), Bob Williamson has led the Center of Hope Breakfast ministry for South Mecklenburg Presbyterian Church with humility, compassion, grace, and a lot of heart. This past Saturday, December 20, Bob officially “retired” from this ministry and passed the leadership spatula to Lee Martin, a SMPC member and frequent Center of Hope volunteer.
Since 2015, on the third Saturday of every month, Bob and his wife, Donna Podgorny, have woken at o’dark thirty, driven to SMPC in the wee hours of the morning to meet fellow volunteers, loaded cars with breakfast items and driven the nearly 30 minutes to Center of Hope to prepare, serve and clean up a hot breakfast for hundreds of hungry guests. The Salvation Army’s Center of Hope is a temporary home for women and children. Breakfast includes freshly scrambled eggs, grits, pork bacon, turkey bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit, coffee and Tang.
By our (very) rough calculations, that’s nearly 84 Saturdays Bob has spent scrambling eggs, flipping pancakes, dishing out grits and doling out much-loved bacon slices to hungry guests. Last year, Bob estimated the COH Breakfast team cooked 336 lbs. of bacon. In 2023, he estimated they scrambled 4,000 eggs. Over seven years, that equates to roughly 2,352 lbs. of bacon and 28,000 eggs!
“Bob has truly enjoyed the fellowship, the joking, and the opportunity to support those in need,” said his wife, Donna. “This community outreach permits all of us to see, know, listen and better understand our neighbors. I am so proud of Bob and thankful to have been a part of these mornings.”
Of course, Bob hasn’t done it alone. Countless volunteer servers have joined him over the years to welcome and serve; the Friday Morning Men’s Group often helps crack 360 eggs so that Saturday morning’s breakfast prep runs smoothly; and, food and financial donations by so many SMPC members over the years have enabled the ministry to thrive and flourish.
“Bob Williamson and Donna Podgorny have shown us what it means to serve with compassion and consistency,” said Lee Martin, who will be the ministry’s leader and point of contact beginning in January 2026. “I’m grateful for their leadership and look forward to continuing this ministry together as a church family.”
Meeting the women and children and the employees of Center of Hope have left an indelible mark on Bob and Donna, and they’ve left an indelible mark on all of us. As Christians, we are called to be the “hands and feet of Jesus” to those who need it most in our community, and Bob and Donna have been an example of this to everyone who has been lucky enough to serve alongside them at Center of Hope.
SMPC’s ministry partnership with Center of Hope dates back to July 2004, when SMPC volunteers served a monthly spaghetti dinner for guests. COVID changed a few things, and now the church’s ministry includes breakfast and dessert! If you feel the call to serve in the new year, the Center of Hope Ministry might be the perfect fit. The Center of Hope Breakfast Ministry, led by Terry Gaines, collects store-bought or homemade desserts on the second Sunday of each month before 10:10 a.m. worship.