Above: Hundreds of members of the Southborough and Pilgrim Church community enjoyed a free dinner courtesy of the church and volunteers. (contributed photos)
I’ve heard of Pancake Breakfasts and Spaghetti Dinners. I never knew that having a pancake breakfast for dinner is a popular tradition the night before Ash Wednesday.
This week, Pilgrim Church provided hundreds of the meals to the community for free. They reached out with the news and photos to share with the community:
On Shrove Tuesday, Pilgrim Church held a community-wide free Pancake Dinner drive-thru at the church on Common Street. “We recognized that people and families are more stressed and hurried than ever before, juggling work, school, and home life. We wanted to give back and help people take a night off from worrying about what to do for dinner, while also celebrating a well-loved tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. After years of COVID separation, church volunteers finally found
ourselves in our native habitat. It felt great to be together again in the church kitchen feeding people and spreading love.” said Sarah Whiteman, Pilgrim Church Deacon.
Reverend Charley Eastman said, “Our church’s vision is Growing Faith, Strengthening Families, and Loving All. This was a great opportunity for Pilgrim Church to serve people, to recognize how much they do and how hard they are working
to keep going through these quickly-changing and often difficult times.” Rev. Eastman celebrated that the church was able to serve over 225 meals consisting of pancakes, real maple syrup, sausage, and fresh fruit. There were even vegetarian and gluten-free options. “We wanted to make sure no one was left out and that everyone felt welcome to come and have a free meal,” Rev. Eastman said.
Everyone from the community was invited. The church reached out using their contacts in the community as well as using social media. Church volunteers made phone calls and sent emails to community groups asking for the invitation to be forwarded. “We were especially honored to serve the Southborough Police and Fire Departments and some of their families. They do so much for the community and we were happy to be able to do something for them.” said Dawn Sorensen,
Director of Children’s Ministries.
Overall, the event was very well-received. People who came to pick up their dinners were happy to find all the details accounted for. There were Mardi-Gras beads handed out with every meal to make things a little more fun and to tie in the recognition that Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins. Fun designs and encouraging messages were drawn on the paper napkin rings by the children of the church as a way of giving kids an opportunity for creative expression while also taking part in giving back to their community. The addition of real maple syrup and use of compostable containers satisfied those who are conscious of the environment.
Pilgrim Church volunteers were energized by the success of this event and are already planning the next community wide event! Stay tuned for more at www.pilgrimchurch.us.
