Pastor Steve Oster said that he and Pastor Mark Frueh had begun thinking of the “What ifs” in regards to the novel coronavirus. Their answer was, “We came up with a three-headed attack: how to bless the city of Minot, how to take care of the church, and how to worship.”

Oster and others with the church called around to all the soup kitchens in town. When they heard “No,” the pastor offered to pick them up so those in need would not have to go without warm food in their stomachs. The soup kitchen events were shifted to the Cornerstone Presbyterian Church’s parking lot on March 12 and 13, and the food was served in a drive-through style, following the recommendation from Gov. Doug Burgum regarding social distancing. For those who may not have known where their church was, Oster and Frueh put up signs to direct traffic to the event.

They also worked in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul Society to provide common personal hygiene products, like hand soap, shampoo and body wash. In a pandemic such as this, personal hygiene is vital in preventing the spread of the virus.

Cornerstone held a soup kitchen on Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Their next one will be on Saturday from 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Submitted Photo From left, Pastor Steve Oster, Reed Soderstrom and Pastor Mark Frueh work on checklists for the personal hygiene products they were putting in paper bags to be handed out at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church.

“We wanted to fill in to make sure people are taken care of,” Oster said. Giving back to the community is important to those of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, and picking up the soup kitchens is for those in need may just be the pick-me-up that they need to keep going in these tough times.