‘A lot of Love Goes into a Home-Cooked Meal’

And now, some religious humor shared during Willow Grove United Methodist Church’s Holy Humor Sunday, this past Sunday:

It was show-and-tell day at the primary school. Little Rebecca brought in a Star of David, and said, “I’m Jewish, and this is a star of David.”

Next up was Mary, who said, “My name is Mary and I’m Catholic and this is my Rosary.”

Finally came Paul, who explained that he was Methodist, and proudly displayed his mother’s casserole dish.

“Methodists like to eat,” Rev. Cynthia Skripak said with a smile and a short laugh.

Skripak is the pastor of Willow Grove United Methodist Church, the oldest running church in Upper Moreland Township.

She explained that there is a long history of sharing a hot meal and fellowship within the Methodist tradition.

In fact, according to older members of the church, Willow Grove United Methodist used to hold an open-potluck meal on Saturday nights throughout the year since the 1960s – however the practice was stopped in recent years, before Skripak became pastor.

So, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when, after a sermon she gave in the summer, in which she challenged her congregation to community outreach and service, that her congregation responded with a call to bring back the open-meals.

“I’m really proud to be the pastor of this church,” Skripak said. “I think this is really an important ministry. I hope we can reach the people that can best be served with a hot meal and a good time for fellowship - and feel welcomed.”

She said that the church will soon be undergoing a re-visioning, trying to redefine its place in the Upper Moreland Community as a way to remain relevant in the community, while attracting new members.

She said an open-meal in the community would be the kinds of outreach opportunities she would like to see.

“It’s a strategy to make a difference, starting locally,” Skripak said.

On the evening of Feb. 19, Willow Grove United Methodist hosted its second monthly Friendship Meal in its fellowship hall.

There were approximately 80 people in attendance, counting at least 15 -20 members from the general community.

According to Kathy Harrod, Willow Grove United Methodist Church organist, who came up with the Friendship Meal idea, this is a significant increase from last month’s initial attendance.

“We know that it will take a while for people to know that we’re doing this,” Harrod said.

Harrod is not a member but a longtime employee of the church.

Cooking up a Friendship Meal

Harrod said that she contacted Skripack shortly after her “call for service” sermon.

During their conversation, Harrod described how recent news reports showed the increasing numbers of homeless, disadvantaged and food-insecure people over recent years in the greater Upper Moreland Community.

Bolstering Harrod’s research is the work done by the Interfaith Housing Alliance, a nonprofit organization providing support to homeless families in Montgomery County. Rebecca Kelly is an eight-year volunteer of the alliance, and the director of its sub-group, Interfaith Food Cupboard of Abington.

Willow Grove United Methodist, and other local churches, donate non-perishable items to the food cupboard, which is based out of Holy Trinity Lutheran Evangelical Church in Abington.

According to Kelly, there were 104 requests for service in January. The requests came from 233 adults and 151 children, with 360 bags of groceries delivered. She said the number of requests in recent years are always over 100, and is a dramatic increase from when she started in 2008, where the average number of requests was below 60.  

Kelly added that the cupboards are in danger of going bare around the spring and fall each year.

With the clear need and an idea to help, Harrod organized the eager congregation to create a new Food Ministry committee, of which she is its chairperson.

The new committee explored several options revolving around food, and included the possibility of taking meals directly to the homeless, before the 15-member committee agreed to bring back the free, public meals.

“It’s a mission in motion,” Paul Hyde, an over-30 year member said.

Hyde, who is a part of the church’s council, does recall past public dinners, but said that this new outreach effort feels different, as it comes out from the congregation and not from the church leadership dictating how to connect to the community.

Many Hands Don’t Spoil the Pot

Hyde gave the grace before the Frienship Meal on Feb. 19, which featured the theme of pasta dishes.

In it, he expressed the sentiment, “We thank them for the relationships they have with us and we hope to grow in the relationships in the spirit of God’s Love,” Hyde said, later adding, “It’s about just reaching out.”

When the community entered the church’s fellowship hall, they saw it divided down the middle with a long line of steaming crock pots, many filled with all the home-made goodies needed to create a really tasty pasta dish. 

Visitors to the Feb. 19 friendship meal could expect to find a buffet of the pasta crock-pots, along with salads, breads, as well as homemade desserts, including rice crispy treats and a mouth-watering bread pudding.

Everything served that evening was either brought by a congregation member or made right in the Willow Grove United Methodist Church’s kitchen.

“We asked for the donation sign-ups a couple of Sundays in a row,” Laura Daugherty, co-coordinator of the Friendship Meal, said.

She, along with co-coordinator and husband Hank Daugherty, helped coordinate volunteer cooks and general volunteers throughout the two-hour event, ensuring that plates, eating utensils, even decorations were in order for the community visitors.

However, Hank said that one of the most important aspects to the Friendship Meal, had nothing to do with eating at all – it was making sure that everyone had a name tag.

“It’s about getting to know each other on a first-name basis,” Hank said. “The purpose is to provide a meal and friendship. It’s open to anybody that wants to come.”

The White House

The Daughertys emphasized that everyone was welcomed, both congregation and community members. The idea for the Friendship Meal is not to single anyone out, regardless if they are food insecure or disadvantaged, they said, but rather the church just wants to be a part of the greater community.

According to Harrod, further advertising at this month’s Friendship Meal helped spread the word, including hanging up flyers at the Upper Moreland Library, contacting the Interfaith Food Cupboard of Abington, and contacting the Willow Grove Apartments, located on 11 Park Ave. in Willow Grove.

“It’s over 100 years old,” Tony Lance, Willow Grove Apartments resident said, proudly reciting the building’s history. “It used to be a hotel for the rich, after they had a fun day at the Willow Grove Park, listening to [John Philip] Sousa.”

According to Lance, thanks to the generosity of the building’s landlords, the Willow Grove Apartments now hold 40 men, who live in apartments, efficiencies or in single rooms.

“This is affordable housing in a very expensive county,” Lance said. “They’re on fixed-income [social security] unemployed or the working poor.”

Lance, who has taken care of the building’s maintenance for the last decade, said that the age range of residents varies from early 20s to as old as 85. He said that those living in efficiencies and the single rooms stay for a few weeks to a few months, while the residents living in the apartments can stay for decades.

He said that several local nonprofit and faith-based organizations recognize the hardships of these residents, and often come with small, but consistent offers for aid, such as groceries.

According to Lance, the Friendship Meal is something very much welcomed by the residents of the Willow Grove Apartments, as they recognize feeling a part of a community outside their own doors.

“It’s nice to take advantage of a home cooked-meal,” Lance said. “There’s a lot of love that goes into a home-cooked meal.”

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The next Friendship meal will take place on March 18 at 12:30 p.m. in the church’s fellowship hall.

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For more information about the Willow Grove United Methodist monthly Friendship Meal, visit http://www.gbgm-umc.org/wgumc/ or call (215) 659-3232.

The Interfaith Food Cupboard of Abington has a food emergency hotline at 215-885-2234.