Profile: Polly Chamberlain
"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.
Joe McDuffie is a reflexologist who makes a special ointment of olive oil and peppermint and lavender oils for their feet. "Dealing with the people that come to the foot washing ministry has been a real eye opening experience because one of the things that happened is I am able to just be there for them," he said.
Barbara Taylor, a massage therapist, and Bettie Sue Mills, a nurse, along with her husband Jim, make up the rest of the "Bless My Sole" team. They all agree the opportunity to provide a physical touch and presence to those that don't get much of that in the world is a blessing.
 "We don't just wash their feet, we sit and visit and talk," Chamberlain says. "Sometimes there will be the need and desire to pray ... we have a lot of laughs."
"I’ve been with the ministry 2 ½ years now and I find that this community of people have become friends and I realize that any of us can be on the street at any point in our lives," Taylor said.
The ministry has opened up a whole different world for the Mills.
"I don’t pretend to understand what they go through, but at least I know a little bit more ... I hear the stories, I know what it’s like for them to be on the street," Bettie said. "Many have come from successful lives and many things have happened. It just means everything to me to be here and just be a part of their lives."
Chamberlain says she gets blessings returned a hundredfold from the people who come to her for a few sweet moments of peace and comfort every Friday.
 "When I first began, it was a wonderful growth experience for me just getting an idea what it was like to be out on the street either to be homeless, to have to live in a shelter, to live in subsidized housing—in other words be dependent on a system or on other people for your day-to-day living."
She does what she does because it is what Jesus said to do.
"And what he says goes. The two great commandments are to love God and to love one another, and to truly love somebody else you need to be open and to want to understand them and develop a bond of trust."
"Christ is my constant companion. The one that I know never lets me down. Never has, never will."
The following people contributed to this Profile:
Print story by Kathy Gilbert; audio story by Mike Hickcox; videography by Hal Dowdy, BES Television.
UMC.org Profiles are produced by Pam Price, 615-742-5405.
Polly's Spiritual Gifts
- Interpretation of Tongues
- Servanthood
- Healing
- Tongues
- Compassion
- Apostleship
Learn more about your spiritual gifts
Polly's Recommended Resources
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Complete Deliverance by Willie Tolbert
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