Taking a leap of faith
the vision of a few meets the needs of many

   A group of people from First and Stone Presbyterian Churches in Caledonia met a little over a year ago to brainstorm ideas for ways to foster relationships within the community. They decided to try a community supper; serving dinner one night a week to people in the community who are alone and might not cook a good meal for themselves. E.A. (Elizabeth) Sears and Janet Flynn laid the ground work for the first Wednesday night supper, as they’ve been dubbed, which was held on a very wintry night in February 2007. A dedicated group of 10-15 volunteers served in various roles to fulfill the vision of fostering community relations. A year later, on Wednesday, February 13, 2008, over 90 people came for dinner at the First Presbyterian Church fellowship hall to celebrate the one year anniversary of Wednesday night suppers at First Church. To date, over 2,472 suppers have been served there.

   "This is the vision of 10-15 people who decided to take that leap of faith and just go," Flynn commented.

   Shirley Burdick is one the Wednesday night cooks. She says the initial idea for the mid-week supper was to get people out of the house, especially those who live alone or are elderly, and provide them with a hot nutritious meal and socialization with others in the community. That has been accomplished and much more, Burdick says. Each week, between 80 and 100 people attend the supper, some young, some older, but all enjoying the atmosphere, the conversation and the delicious food cooked by some of Cal-Mum’s best cooks.

   "We haven’t missed one yet since it started. We’ve lived in Caledonia for 40 years but we find we are enjoying the fellowship with our Caledonia neighbors that we haven’t met before. It’s enjoyable to meet new friends. Just last week we met a lady who shared a lot of Caledonia history that we didn’t know," commented Diana Slocum who, along with her husband Gus, attends each Wednesday night supper.

   The group of cooks extended the invitation to other churches in the community and more volunteers began to join the effort. They generally arrive at the First Church kitchen early in the afternoon. Each Wednesday of the month is a designated theme. First Wednesday is Italian night with Brian Shaffer and Barbara Bird, second is cook’s choice (most hope it will be Shirley’s girls and her meatloaf night!), third is soup with Pat Mead and Darcy Monacelli and fourth is chicken jambalaya with Mary Drotar and Janet Flynn.

   While it is sometimes said that it’s difficult to get a commitment out of people for anything, that isn’t the case with this outreach. Just last week the kitchen crew welcomed a new volunteer, Tom Fisher, who offered to come by and help with the cooking. Fisher, a great cook himself, owns his own catering company. Shirley and Tom exchanged recipe tips and then forty pounds of mashed potatoes and 12 meatloaves later; everyone enjoyed supper and a celebration of community and fellowship. A bundle of balloons and a one-year anniversary cake topped off the celebration.

   Violet and Fred Trumbore regularly attend on Wednesday nights. "It’s great. We like the fellowship with others. We don’t have a car and it’s within walking distance so we can stay connected to the community," Violet commented adding that she especially appreciates that the workers from the residential group home for the disabled in Caledonia bring the residents for supper. "That benefits all of us," she said.

   The Wednesday night supper begins in October and runs through to June. It’s a mission that is continually growing and evolving, as God would have the needs of the community met, says Flynn. There is no charge for the supper but donations have covered the costs of the food.

   "There hasn’t been a week when the donations didn’t cover the cost of the food," Burdick said.

   If you are home alone at dinnertime with your TV tray in front of you, why not think about coming out to First Presbyterian Church for a delicious hot meal and great conversation with your friends and neighbors.