Running on Faith

Even though she retired nearly four and a half years ago as CEO of The Kitchen, Sister Lorraine Biebel keeps close tabs on the Springfield-based homeless-services agency. She is on the board for The Kitchen and The Kitchen Foundation. Her input and advice is still very much sought after by the people in charge now. It's important to Sister Lorraine that The Kitchen continues to have a foundation of faith. But businesspeople tend to have a different idea of how to run the charity than Franciscan nuns do, she says. (Sister Lorraine is a Franciscan.) "Their whole perspective is, 'Are we making money on anything?'" she says. "And I get really tickled at them. They say, 'Oh, we lost so much money this month.' And I always tease them. I say, 'You didn't lose any money because you didn't have it in the first place.'" Can you blame anyone for thinking, "How are we supposed to help people if we don't have any money?" That seems logical enough. But Sister Lorraine doesn't think like that. Never has.

Lunch with Sister Lorraine

Not only does she put in time as a board member, but Sister Lorraine also attends almost all the fundraisers for The Kitchen-Celebration of Women, the annual Knights of Columbus Bowl-A-Thon, Eyes in Disguise. (See info box on p.79 for details.) You name it. Occasionally she drops by the administrative offices on Jefferson Avenue to say hello to Bill Stalnaker, the current CEO. And when Mary Ann Johnston, director of development until she retired this past December, says she's too swamped on a Monday to take a lunch break, Sister Lorraine tells her, "Just go." And off to Ziggie's they go, where Sister Lorraine orders chicken and dumpling soup and Mary Ann gets a cheeseburger and fries. It's good to catch up, too. Sister Lorraine has been gone for a week, which caused her to miss the last board meeting. And that seems to have sent Mary Ann into a brief moment of panic. "Oh, I was supposed to ask you to say the blessing at the Celebration of Women luncheon... Will ya?" asks Mary Ann. "Probably," says Sister Lorraine a little playfully. And Mary Ann laughs. "She's ornery, isn't she?"

"Now where did you go on your trip?" asks Mary Ann. "Up to Illinois? No! You went to Wisconsin!" she corrects herself before Sister Lorraine can answer. "How was that?" "Well, it was very good," says Sister Lorraine. She had spent a week in Milwaukee, visiting family and witnessing her great-great niece's baptism. "I'm the only relative left in the family," she says. "Both my sisters, their husbands... everybody's gone but me. So I feel a little responsible." She dips a piece of bread in her soup and jokes with Mary Ann about the absence of sauerkraut at this meal. She practically ate it with every meal while in Wisconsin. "So you got your fill of sauerkraut, huh," says Mary Ann. "Well, I love it," says Sister Lorraine. "And they don't know how to cook it down here anyway." Then Mary Ann asks Sister Lorraine if she knows how to make sauerkraut the Wisconsin way. No, she does not.

Then it's Mary Ann's turn to talk. She seems tired today. So many fundraisers to plan. And it's difficult, she admits, because there are so many in Springfield. "Special events are just a toss-up, you know, whether they make it or not," she says. "Every nonprofit is having a bunch of them... But we try." That day she was coming off the Junior League of Springfield's Celebrate the Season weekend, where, she said, she only sold six tickets for the $10,000 kitchen makeover giveaway, sponsored by Metro Builders Supply, CBS Cabinets and other local vendors. (The drawing will be held January 28, the last day of the Home Builders Association Home Show at the Springfield Expo Center.) And she also admits The Kitchen is toying with the idea of not doing the Celebration of Women luncheon again. Last fall was the third year for that event. And "chances are it won't take place again," she says. "For some reason, we had so many turn-downs this year... The committee kind of fell apart this year. They got really discouraged because they got a lot of nos. And I got many, many nos. So, I don't know. It was successful for two years. But we might have to abandon that one. I hate that."

Sister Lorraine listens and nods her head. It's a shame, she agrees. But something like this really doesn't discourage her too much. And Mary Ann knows it. "She ran The Kitchen based on faith," Mary Ann says of Sister Lorraine. "And Sister had a powerful prayer line." There were times when "nobody knew how we were going to make it to the next month. And pretty soon, here would come a big chunk of money. And I'd say, 'Sister! You've been praying on the side!'"

Sister Lorraine says she never doubted they'd be able to pay the bills. Although at times it got scary. "See, I have this basic belief that God cares for poor people more than we do," she says. "And so it was sort of his business to take care of them. I always believed that God would come through with whatever we needed... And He always did come through. Sometimes in very remarkable ways. Very exciting ways. I think as Christians we're called to live an exciting life. But we're scared to."

 

"Gather Your People, O Lord"

Sister Lorraine grew up in Wisconsin. She earned a nursing degree from Marquette University, a Roman Catholic college in Milwaukee. She worked as a pediatric nurse at hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois. And she joined Franciscans in Springfield, Illinois in 1948, just 10 days shy of her 24th birthday. The sisters were dedicated to helping the poor and the homeless. After working in various medical facilities and at a retreat center called House of Prayer, Sister Lorraine and the others began talking about new approaches to living a religious life. And in 1982 she and five others moved to Springfield, Missouri. It was sort of a mission place, she says, as there were only six Catholic parishes and no Franciscan nuns or priests here at the time.

It was Bishop Bernard Law who had the idea for a soup kitchen in Springfield. He asked Sister Lorraine and two others to do it. And they said yes. On Palm Sunday in 1983, the first meals were served at the cafeteria at St. Agnes Grade School. Each parish sent one volunteer a day to cook and serve meals. Sister Lorraine says she has always been impressed with the people of 417-land, their willingness to volunteer and help. But in just a few months, they were serving 200 meals a day. "We didn't have any idea how many poor people were in Springfield," says Sister Lorraine. "Most people thought there weren't very many." And sure enough, the number of people in need of a hot meal quickly became too much for the little school cafeteria to handle. And as Sister Lorraine puts it, "We were invited to find another place."

In August 1983, they leased the Missouri Grill on Commercial Street to house the soup kitchen. Today The Kitchen Inc. is a fully functioning, comprehensive and supportive organization that helps thousands of people every year. In addition to the Missouri Grill, The Kitchen Inc. includes the Missouri Hotel, which serves as a homeless shelter, a transitional apartment building, a medical clinic, and a dental services center; Maggie's Boutique (free to residents/thrift store to the public), child care, educational and job programs, administrative offices and more.

The Kitchen Inc.-A Helping Community is a place where people in need can go for help, to find food, shelter, medical attention, education, guidance, and perhaps most importantly, a second chance. Ask anyone at The Kitchen, and he or she will say that none of it would be possible without the time, energy, dedication, faith, love and the power of prayer of Sister Lorraine. Even Congressman Roy Blunt paid tribute to Sister Lorraine when she retired in 2002. He spoke of her in front of the U.S. House of Representatives and concluded his speech by saying this: "The Kitchen ministries have professionally and cost-effectively provided these services and care in a manner in which the federal government could not. The ministry is the work of many caring people, led by a woman of great faith whose work has touched thousands of lives."

 

Her Mission Continues

Just because she retired, Sister Lorraine has not been taking it easy. It's actually just the opposite. She jokes that if she knew how busy she was going to be, she never would have retired! Besides The Kitchen, she sits on advisory committees for many organizations, such as the Community Advisory Board of Great Southern Bank and a temporary committee at Missouri State University that is studying the long-term effects of poverty on children. And Sister Lorraine has her own little project, too: The Little Portion Retreat Center. It consists of two separate buildings-she calls one the "milk house" and the other "the barn," even though they both look like houses. They're situated on the same property as her own home in Republic. You'll find them all at the end of a gravel driveway called Assisi Way. (See sidebar for details on St. Francis of Assisi.) Anyone can stay at Little Portion, use it as a retreat center, for prayer or  for conferences. Sister Lorraine asks for a donation of $20 per night, mainly just to pay utilities and keep it clean. It isn't full all the time. And lately, she says, it's been rather slow. "But it's okay because I don't want to work too hard," she says.

Since she was gone for a week, she had several phone calls and e-mails to answer. One woman wanted to come that weekend. Sister Lorraine set it up, even though she hadn't had a chance to vacuum the main living room yet. She would have to do it that afternoon. Keeping up the place is quite the job. Both houses combined, there are 10 rooms and 16 beds total, which makes for a lot of laundry. Three different groups can stay at the retreat center at one time, as there are three separate living and kitchen areas. The bedrooms are simple. The beds are covered with what look like handmade quilts and bedspreads. Each is unique, warm and soft. The groups and individuals who stay at Little Portion provide their own food. The kitchens are fully equipped for cooking and storing food. And each separate living space has a gathering place for worship. When 417 Magazine visited Sister Lorraine, it was autumn and the leaves were falling. It's a peaceful place, where she lives. The only sound that could be heard was the wind chimes hanging from the main house, where Sisters Lorraine, Sheryl and Cecilia live. That and the gentle breeze passing through the trees.

And then the peace and quiet is interrupted when Sister Lorraine fires up her John Deere Gator. Mary Ann says, "Sister just tootles around all over the place on that." Indeed she does. And her black and white Shih-Tzu, Angel, runs beside her. Sometimes Angel rides in Sister Lorraine's lap. (The older male Shih Tzu, Brandee, chooses to stay indoors.) Sister Lorraine rides the Gator all around her property, from her house to the retreat center, which is really only a hundred feet or so away from her front door. But Sister Lorraine walks with a cane these days. Her hip gives her problems sometimes, she says. She doesn't kneel at Mass during prayer. Of course, it doesn't mean she puts any less effort into her worship than anyone else. It just isn't as easy to get down and up as it used to be. "Oh, I guess I'm just getting old," she says. "It doesn't slow me down too much."

No, it doesn't slow her down much at all.

St. Francis of Assisi

Sister Lorraine is a Franciscan nun of the Third Order Regular. Franciscan nuns are devoted to helping the poor and the homeless. They follow the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi, who was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy. But ironically, he was not poor. And he didn't start out very saintly. His father was a wealthy merchant. Francis enjoyed spending money and throwing parties for friends, and he spent little time focused on God.

But then he experienced war and became very ill. He began to change. He embraced the sick and the needy. And at first he lived a life of solitude and prayer. Then he extended his actions to encouraging others to follow Christ and his apostles.

Upcoming Events for The Kitchen

• January 15: 11th Annual Knights of Columbus Bowl-A-Thon, Enterprise and Battlefield Lanes

• February 24: Eyes in Disguise

Call 417-837-1500 for more info. Visit thekitcheninc.org for more info.

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