Elm Park United Methodist Church’s Lenten worship experience, “Soup and Sermon,” which begins on Ash Wednesday, will bring a number of area clergy to the pulpit for the noon downtown services.

The Rev. Rees Warring, a retired United Methodist clergyman, will present the first message on Ash Wednesday. Bishop John F. Swantek, who is a retired Polish National Catholic Church official, is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16; the Rev. Richard Malloy of the University of Scranton, Wednesday, March 23; the Rev. Douglas Postgate, pastor, Carbondale/Jermyn United Methodist Church, Wednesday, March 30; the Rev. Gladys Fortuna-Blake, pastor, Daleville and Maple Lake United Methodist Church, Wednesday, April 6; the Rev. Beth Jones, Scranton District superintendent, Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church, Wednesday, April 13; and the Rev. C. Gerald Blake Jr., pastoral associate, Elm Park United Methodist Church, Wednesday, April 20.

This worship experience in Elm Park’s chapel, at Linden Street and Jefferson Avenue, will run from 12:05 to 12:30 p.m. A light lunch will be served in the church’s dining hall from 12:30 to 1.

“Soup and Sermon” planners have designed the services to allow worshippers to have lunch and still return to other obligations within an hour.