411 E. Grace Street

Richmond, Virginia 23219

(804) 648-8319

The excerpt below comes from an article on The United Methodist Church website. Please click here for the rest of the article, including a short

film about the Bless My Sole ministry.

"Bless My Sole" nourishes soles—and souls—of the homeless.

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet." — John 13:14

Every Friday, Polly Chamberlain and a few of her closest friends extend tender, loving care to the "soles" of homeless people with dirty, tired feet

because it is what Christ would do.

Chamberlain moved to Richmond, Va., three years ago and while searching for a church home found the perfect place at downtown Centenary

United Methodist Church. “I wanted to join a church that was doing a lot of outreach and community service.”

Centenary has been serving lunch to those in need every Friday for the past 28 years. Chamberlain started working in the kitchen but she wasn't

getting enough one-on-one time with the people streaming in and out of the church. After working behind the scenes for a month, Chamberlain

heard some scripture during a worship service about Jesus washing feet. "I noticed that there were a lot of really tired, wet, cold looking feet on

our clients," she said. She approached her pastor about starting a foot washing ministry to provide some comfort and fellowship time with the

people coming in for lunch on Fridays.

He agreed, and she started out alone. That changed when the Richmond Times Dispatch did a feature story about "Bless My Sole." She has

since been joined by four faithful volunteers who all look forward to Fridays when they have a chance to provide comfort to people who also

need their souls massaged.