That sounds benign on the face of it, but one wonders how high pressure sales the sermon is. I like the Sikh approach in providing meals at every Gurdwara. A free meal is available to anyone of any wealth, race, or religion with the only conditions that you eat with everyone else, remove your shoes and cover your hair.

No sermon, no lecture, just unconditional -- and very good -- food as part of a deeply held sense of community. They have leapt to help in disasters, kept going through riots a few years back, and keep sticking to those principles as numbers keep rising. Rising because the UK government created a need for food banks out of nowhere over ten years, and more and more now need free food... I keep hearing of quiet Sikh efforts across the country as our government deconstructs the benefits system and safety net.

I'm life-long atheist, but I feel much warmer toward our Sikh communities than the UK's formerly christian heritage - where charity so often seems to come with a catch, or a sales pitch, or worse is conspicuously absent. The Sikh sense of community feels far stronger, and more of a true belief as a result.

A different comment by me:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21805859

I think the Sikh community probably was the source of the absolute best homeless meal I ever got, but I wasn't offended at listening to them share their Christian faith at the program mentioned above and it was a good meal, far better than most homeless meals.

There is zero contradiction in saying "Don't hold homeless people hostage for a meal" and saying "Offering a free meal as part of sharing something you love -- be it Calculus or Christianity -- with whomever wishes to join you is not the same as holding homeless people hostage." They are entirely different points and they in no way conflict.

That's fair, and I think your other comment's point of holding hostage as opposed to charity without judgement is key. It's that tendency that's made me default to suspicious of christian charity, despite it being my origins, as it has been quite a common habit - charity as a means to convert, rather than simply doing good works for those in need. Not at all surprised to hear the food was poorer too.