{"id":21524,"date":"2026-03-11T11:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/friends-at-the-church-supper\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:12:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:12:21","slug":"friends-at-the-church-supper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/better-living\/emotional-and-mental-health\/friends-at-the-church-supper\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends at the Church Supper"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I never liked church suppers.<\/p>\n<p>I went to so many of them growing up, too many. Dad was a pastor and our lives revolved around the church. I had no problem with the faith part; it was eating and making conversation with adults\u2014some of them total strangers\u2014that got to me.<\/p>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ada4f91 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ada4f91\" data-element_type=\"container\" id=\"home-banner-stn\">\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72e6e8eb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"72e6e8eb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Community Newsletter<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-261bcec elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"261bcec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Get More Inspiration Delivered to Your Inbox<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9787b46 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-wp-widget-ninja_forms_widget\" data-id=\"9787b46\" data-element_type=\"widget\" id=\"front-banner-signup\" data-widget_type=\"wp-widget-ninja_forms_widget.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<noscript class=\"ninja-forms-noscript-message\"><br \/>\n\tNotice: JavaScript is required for this content.<\/noscript><\/p>\n<style>\n<p>        \/* FORM STYLES *\/<\/p>\n<p>        #nf-form-5-cont {\n                                    background-color:#ffffff;\n                                                    border-radius:35px;\n-webkit-border-radius:35px;                    }\n    <\/style>\n<style>\n<p>        \/* FIELDS STYLES *\/<\/p>\n<p>        .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-27-wrap {\n                                            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\/>\n                <script id=\"nf-tmpl-cell\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-fields><\/nf-fields>\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<p>        <script id=\"nf-tmpl-row\" type=\"text\/template\">\n            <nf-cells><\/nf-cells>\n        <\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Four years ago, I moved with my sister and our parents to the far eastern tip of Maine, to a cabin in the tiny township of Trescott. We were as likely to see coyotes or eagles out the kitchen window as a car coming down the road.<\/p>\n<p>It was the ideal spot for Mom and Dad to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet of retirement, while we built a second home. Truth be told, though, I savored the solitude more than they did. I might have been in my forties, but part of me was still that shy, tongue-tied pastor\u2019s kid.<\/p>\n<p>Then out of the blue one evening came a knock on the cabin door. It was a white-haired man we\u2019d never met. He got right to the point. \u201cMy name is Milo,\u201d he said. \u201cI heard there\u2019s a retired pastor who lives here. Our church is in need of a minister.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So much for retirement! Not that Dad minded, of course.<\/p>\n<p>On a Saturday night not long after Milo\u2019s visit, we walked into the basement of a nearby town\u2019s Methodist church for\u2014you guessed it\u2014a bean supper. The room was packed, people sitting elbow to elbow at long tables, making the four empty chairs down front particularly conspicuous. Every eye followed us as we took our seats.<\/p>\n<p>Milo clanged a huge kettle with a spoon and announced, \u201cI\u2019d like to welcome everyone and to introduce our new pastor, Dale Hupp, and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t realize then that when I stepped into that church basement, I\u2019d crossed the threshold into a centuries-old community\u2019s foundation of family, faith and food. I was too busy feeling awkward, fumbling for what to say. At least no one noticed amid the bustle\u2014ladies in the congregation delivering hot casseroles, tables humming with laughter and conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Soon I was invited to join the kitch\u00aden crew. I had to admit I was curious. Everyone at the first supper was friendly, happy, full of life. Was there some<br \/>\nsecret recipe, some special dish, I didn\u2019t know about?<\/p>\n<p>Saturday afternoon I walked into the church kitchen. The rest of the crew stood around the big table peeling, slicing, mixing and yakking. I hung back, feeling like a stranger crashing a family reunion.<\/p>\n<p>Not for long. \u201cI\u2019m Janice,\u201d a woman said. \u201cReady to work?\u201d She handed me a knife and pointed at the mound of potatoes in front of us. I got to slicing.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone introduced themselves, then Janice launched into a tale about the time the brown bread exploded and shot through the ceiling into the Sunday school classroom above. Soon I was so caught up in conversation, I forgot about being nervous.<\/p>\n<p>Alice checked the slow cookers of yellow eye and red kidney beans, salt pork and onion, and doctored them, adding a glug of molasses, a handful of sugar or a sprinkling of pepper. She knew exactly what each pot needed. A few of the women put finishing touches on cakes. Casseroles lined the counter, waiting for their turn in the oven.<\/p>\n<p>As suppertime approached I got keyed up again. This time I wouldn\u2019t be a guest. I would be waiting tables. Milo banged the pot and Dad said grace. I wished I\u2019d paid more attention to the waitresses at that first supper. But I needn\u2019t have worried. Gladys and Cindy and other women were near me anytime I faltered, effortlessly dishing up small talk, salads and casseroles. They made me look like a pro.<\/p>\n<p>I marveled at how guests requested dishes by name: Janice\u2019s Texas hash, Alice\u2019s baked mac and cheese, Brenda\u2019s clam casserole. People were talking and laughing, leaning in to hear one another. I could only catch bits and pieces of the chatter and yet with each dish I brought out, I felt more a part of everything going on around me. Like I belonged.<\/p>\n<p>And I do. I\u2019m now a proud five-year veteran of the kitchen crew. I\u2019ve swapped a lot of recipes and even more stories working around that big table. I liked the nickname my friends and fellow waitresses gave Dad\u2014the Big Dipper, for his Saturday night job ladling beans into thick china bowls. I know the regulars and their favorite fare (like Fred, who always makes me promise to save him some of Mom\u2019s meatballs).<\/p>\n<p>I look forward now to our church supper every month. People, regulars and strangers, come from all over to visit and happily crowd into the dining room. It really is a family reunion\u2014a family drawn together not by blood but by God\u2019s warm embrace, where the not-so-secret recipe is sharing food, faith and a part of ourselves.<\/p>\n<p><em>Try these <a href=\"http:\/\/guideposts.com\/recipes\/dinner-recipes-baked-beans\">Baked Beans<\/a> at your next supper!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I never liked church suppers. I went to so many of them growing up, too many. Dad was a pastor and our lives revolved around the church. I had no problem with the faith part; it was eating and making conversation with adults\u2014some of them total strangers\u2014that got to me. Community Newsletter Get More Inspiration [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":29415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1096],"class_list":["post-21524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emotional-and-mental-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Friends at the Church Supper - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friends at the Church Supper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I never liked church suppers. 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