Serving lunch and spiritual nourishment

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This article was published 22/10/2018 (2865 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Young United Church advertises itself as “a church for everyone,” and the staff and parishioners mean it.

One of the people who exemplifies the motto is Jeanette Rose.

Rose is the driving force behind a lunch program at the church that feeds people in West Broadway every Sunday.

“It’s really gratifying,” says the 85-year-old, who has attended the church for more than 50 years.

Rose buys the groceries using money provided by the church.

She shows up Sunday at 9:30 a.m. with three or four other volunteers and prepares lunch.

Rose and the volunteers attend the 11 a.m. service and duck out 15 minutes before it ends so they can begin serving lunch at 11:45 a.m.

Some of the people who eat lunch have attended the service and others show up just for the food.

On a busy Sunday, Rose and her team serve sandwiches, cupcakes, coffee, tea and juice to as many as 60 visitors.

Many of them are already familiar with the church, which is on the corner of Furby and Broadway, because it shares its building with West Broadway Community Ministry.

The ministry offers a variety of programs and services to the community, including lunch four days a week.

Since the ministry doesn’t offer lunch on Sundays, Young United fills the gap. Once everyone has been fed, Rose and her team clean the tables and dishes.

By about 2 p.m., she’s headed home to the house she shares in Windsor Park with her husband, Allan.

Rose began serving lunch 10 years ago, when she noticed people coming into the building, looking for something to eat during the church’s post-service, cookies-and-coffee fellowship time.

Today, the need is greater than ever.

Rose notes that many new visitors have walked through the doors during the past three or four months.

“It saddens me,” she says. “It’s sad that in this day and age, we have so many people hungry out there.”

The people who visit Young United for lunch receive more than just a meal, says Lynda Trono, community minister at West Broadway Community Ministry.

“There are just so many places where they try to go and they get booted out,” Trono says. “They have no place that welcomes them, and the church is trying to provide that place.”

Trono praises Rose’s compassion and commitment.

“To me, that is what church is about,” Trono says. “It’s about feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger.”

Rose wishes they could offer more.

“I just feel that there should be more done for these people that we’re feeding,” she says, noting that many of them are homeless. “I don’t know what the answer is.”

At the same time, serving lunch on Sundays is a meaningful experience.

“I feel good that some people have come to our table and had something to eat,” she says.

If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com.