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Wichita Church To Showcase Renovations At Open House

Table of Hope Metropolitan Community Church is hosting an open house on Sunday to showcase renovations at the church.

Jackie Carter is the church's senior pastor. She said many people have stopped coming to services, or the  food pantries, because they are not able to climb the church’s stairs.

Two major donors and the public contributed to the improvements. An elevator was added to all three levels and restrooms were upgraded to meet federal disability guidelines.

Table of Hope offers food pantries for humans and pets. Carter said they started the pet food pantry because they saw people giving human food to dogs.

Carter and her staff think pets are extremely helpful, especially to people in poverty.

“Every single person that wants to get into our building ... they are now able to do that,” Carter said, whether it's for the food pantries or services.

This year, Table of Hope is celebrating its 30th anniversary at its present location, 156 S. Kansas, near Douglas and the Canal Route.

“It’s the first time in the history of this congregation that we’ve been able to provide that service to the community,” Carter said.

Table of Hope staff say it is a church that thinks feeding people's bodies is as important as feeding people's hearts. Carter says every Tuesday it serves around 1,200 people at the food pantries.

She said people who use the pantry do not have to meet income qualifications, other than providing a photo ID and proof of address.

“We believe if people are going to wait in line for food, they probably need it,” she said.

The open house showcasing the improvements is Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the church.

“This is a celebration for everyone,” Carter said.

Suzette Sponsel is an intern in the KMUW News Lab.