Disciples Kitchen · Waynesboro, VA

Saturday, Nov 6 2010

Annual "Stew Off" at Stone Soup Books

    There was a chill in the air, a little smoke, and the savory aroma of home-made beef stew.  Once again, our dear friends at Stone Soup Books fired up the old iron kettle and held their annual "Stew Off" in benefit of Disciples' Kitchen.  Laura is usually at the center of this event, but this year we had to give her the day off.  It seems she was preoccupied with  her new baby, which she brought into the world on Nov 1.  Congratulations Laura, we pray you and your family are doing well.

    Never to worry, the rest of the folks carried the day.  Work began earlier in the week with Donna and some of the others chopping up the veggies.  Then bright and early Saturday morning, Dinah began the process of cooking what would be somewhere north of forty quarts of the sought after stew.  She was joined at a more reasonable hour by a number of  others including Jan in the kitchen, Don, Mason, Annie, Mary, Jim, and Bob.  Sales continued from 10:00AM to 3:00PM and word has it that all the stew was sold.

    There were probably others that helped or contributed in some way.   Thanks very much if I did not include you by name.  Special thanks also go to JMD farms, responsible for the brisket and potatoes.   We also appreciate the containers that were donated by St. John's Catholic Church.

God bless you all, you are an asset to your community.

To the Disciples of St. John the Evangelist

and all the serving teams

Thanks for a great day and for a great year!

     Observance of Thanksgiving is older than the United States, in fact the tradition comes to us from England.  Since first being observed on the shores of this land, many official proclamations have been made.  The earliest  written proclamation on this side of the Atlantic dates to June 20, 1676.   It was issued by the governing council of  Charlestown, Massachusetts in order to express thanks to God for success in establishing their community.  I have referenced a few passages, complete with the early American dialect. 

     They recognized that "in the midst of his judgements he hath remembered mercy” even within their hardships and a "Continual Series of his Afflictive dispensations" in their conflicts with the native Americans, they still credit God for good fortune they had enjoyed.

     Many of the early accounts of this tradition were depicted not as a private family affair; but publicly, so all could come together in a sense of community.  We carry on that tradition today as a people of God, led yesterday by the serving team from St. John's the Evangelist.  We do not generally schedule holidays for serving, but try to accommodate when a team has desire to do so.  This team has given up their Thanksgiving holiday time three of the four years past, to be sure that those in our community have the opportunity to share in that giving of thanks to our God.  Even today, we look to God to establish and sustain our community and it is through people like this team from St John's and all our other teams and partners, that God can do His work in this small corner of the world.  Thanks to you all and especially to Waynesboro Second Presbyterian Church for providing the space and the oversight by their monitors to make it possible.

     The Charlestown proclamation closes as follows, and our prayer is no less for today:

"...the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being perswaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and soulds as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ."

-Bob Treacy

Thanksgiving 2010

We're excited about how much Disciples Kitchen has grown since its doors opened in September of 2007 at Second Presbyterian Church in Waynesboro. 

In the beginning, volunteers served an average of 10 meals per day, 2 days a week. By June of 2008, a third day was added to the schedule and the number of meals served totaled 3,900 with as many as 40 to 50 people coming for each meal.

With such growth and need realized for the community, leaders from Second Presbyterian Church proposed that an advisory board be formed to take on the leadership of the ministry.  By the end of the summer, a board was formed and the first officers were elected.

The ministry has continued to expand each year.  The number of meals served is now approaching 20,000.  Some days have seen over 100 meals served at one time.  Now at the end of 2010, the ministry is supported by 25 churches and civic groups.  And, as of  September 24th, Disciples Kitchen is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which means any contributions are tax deductible. 

God has truly blessed this community ministry.  As we go into 2011, we're looking forward to even more growth, an increased number of volunteers, perhaps even adding another site.  If you would like to get involved with Disciples Kitchen or make a donation, please visit the "How You Can Help" page of our website.  And, we can certainly use all the prayers we can get!

Blessings,

Bob Treacy, Board President