Every second, fourth and fifth Tuesday of the month, members of the congregation in this town of 620 residents serve a free lunch to the community. The church regularly provides meals to 65 people – or roughly 185 percent of the 35 people it averages in attendance during Sunday worship, says pastor Shelly Timber. Attendance at the meal has reached as high as 93.
The church started the ministry in 2001, when the congregation added a fellowship hall and wanted to minister to the community. “We need a watering hole in this area where people can get together,” Timber says.
Many of the diners are community members who use the occasion to visit with friends, invite neighbors and catch up on the latest news from all the surrounding small towns. Timber says the meal is especially meaningful to some of the area’s senior adults. “Some seniors don’t see another soul all week,” she explains. “They really depend on it.”
Snow regularly piles high in this region, but the church has cancelled the lunch only once. Earlier this month, winds were blowing and creating whiteout conditions that made driving too dangerous, Timber says. To read a previous story on the challenges of ministry in the region, see “Prepare Yourself! “
Spearheaded by member Sharon Bither, the five or six regular cooks and servers have the meal down to a science, Timber says. She adds, “The women in our church who run it have a ball.”
A menu is provided at the beginning of each season, which runs September through May, and includes a variety of entrees such as lasagna, Maine’s red hotdogs, fish chowder or a full roast dinner. “After seven seasons of service, it seems the favorite on the year’s menu is a simple baked potato – the county’s chief crop – served buffet style with toppings galore to choose from,” Timber says.
There is no charge for the lunch, although a bucket is set out for donations, which generally cover the cost of the food and utilities, Timber says.
For each event, the work starts on Monday when food preparations are done, tables are set with silverware, glasses and mugs, and table centerpieces are decorated to an appropriate theme. “At 6 a.m. the next morning, the cooking and camaraderie begin, and by 11 a.m. the early-bird diners start arriving,” Timber says.
Diners are served at their seat. Any who attend are also invited to make use of a prayer request box, emphasizing this church’s strong prayer ministry. When lunch is finished, people rarely rush out the door. Conversations continue around the tables while people sip their last cup of coffee or work on a large jigsaw puzzle in the center of the room.
Most of the people who come to the lunch already are members at other churches, so the congregation doesn’t provide the lunch as a way of attaining numerical growth, Timber says. In addition to evangelism, “A church’s presence ought to function to bring unity and nurture to its community,” she explains.
To learn more about the church and its ministries, visit New Sweden Covenant.
