Funeral dinners

Our congregation provides a funeral dinner for any family, (member or non-member), and for anyone who does not have a church home.  On Feb. 5th we provided a funeral dinner for over 100 members of a church family.  On Feb. 8th we provided a funeral dinner for a non-churched local family.of over 100 members.  In this way we seek to reach those grieving a loss and by providing a place where they can gather, share a meal and have fellowship.  It helps to make the transition from the last gathering at the cemetery to the lonely time of going home to the finality of their loss. The dinners are no charge.  Our church provides a place to meet, the food and workers who attend to the needs of the family and friends of the departed. In this one week we served over 200 family and friends of the departed.  Some families give a gift to the church for this service.  That donation goes to help fund the next dinner(s) thereby perpetuating the gift of love.  About 15 of our congregation help with these dinners by cooking, setting tables, cleaning, washing dishes, serving etc.  Our local funeral home knows that we provide this service and offers families the opportunity to use our church as a place to gather following the graveside rites.

There is always an estimation of how many people to expect at these dinners but most of the time it is just that, an estimate. We were told that the Feb. 5th dinner was to be for around 50 people.  We planned for 60 and had extra food to serve that number.  What a surprise when folks started coming in and filled every table in our Fellowship Hall plus some overflow seatiing in an upstairs Sunday School room.  We prayed, "It's loaves and fishes time. Lord!"  Indeed the Lord multiplied and supplied the need.  Every person was fed, none went hungray and a few even came for seconds.  When all was said and done, not a crumb was left!  Every bite of food had been enjoyed.  Thanks be to God for His marvelous provision.

On the 8th, we were ready.  We had been told to expect at least 100.  Many of our workers had taken the day off on Feb. 5th and could not afford another day in the same week.  We were afraid there would be only three of us to work.  Lo and behold, again the Lord provided and friends of the grieving family came to help serve.  We were also blessed by the family and friends who came from the funeral home and gravesite bringing all kinds of food to share.  It was a feast indeed and folks had a joyful time eating the variety of goodies and fellowshipping and sharing stories and love for the departed loved one.  It was a blessing to all of us.

Serving a funeral dinner may not sound like a big deal but for the families and loved ones who are grieving it is a very big deal indeed.  And as for our congregation...we are older and fewer than years gone by but we still have an active crew willing to work, donate food and monetary gifts to make purchases of supplies and groceries and those who can pray.  In fact the ones who pray for these families and our meal efforts are the most important of all.  The Lord draws near to the brokenhearted and our congregation does the same.  We are so grateful to God that this is a ministry we can provide reaching out to those who hurt by providing a place to perhaps find some joy by fellowhipping with their beloveds.