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Election Day spaghetti dinner is tradition for Lord of Life Lutheran Church
By LINDA M. LINONIS
CANFIELD
The “spaghetti boat” once operated by Lord of Life Lutheran Church during the Canfield Fair launched its annual Election Day spaghetti dinner nearly four decades ago.
Sources within the church recall that after rainy weather at the 1975 fair dampened food sales by the church, the leftover sauce became the starting point of a new tradition that November. When the church marked its 50th anniversary in May, a list of “firsts” was compiled, including the first Election Day dinner.
The Rev. Rebecca “Becky” Richie Zielke, pastor, and Doris Puerner, dinner coordinator, recently discussed the event and its purpose.
Puerner, coordinator since 2001, said, “A lot of other people have been involved and organized it over the years.” She and her husband, Dick, who also helps at the dinner, have been Lord of Life members for 42 years. “This event is on my calendar and part of my routine.”
“I enjoy doing this,” Puerner said. “I see it as a community event where people meet one another. People come from Canfield and other places. In our church, it builds bonds among members.”
Puerner collects all the ingredients for the fundraiser. That’s about 70 pounds of meat for the meat sauce, eight cases of spaghetti noodles, eight cases of tomato puree, about 20 big pouches of bagged salad and 50 loaves of bread. She buys from Gia Russa in Coitsville to support a Valley company.
As for the spaghetti sauce, Puerner said her years of cooking for her family of seven children provided good experience and a tried-and-true recipe. She oversees the cooking, which is done by a staff member at the Canfield High School cafeteria. “It’s a licensed facility,” Puerner said of the food-preparation site. The church rents the school, which is handicap-accessible.
Puerner recruits church members to bake desserts including pies, cakes and brownies. This year, ice-cream sundaes will be offered.
The dinner attracts between 250 and 350 customers. When voting took place at the high school, the attendance was even higher. Puerner noted that in recent years, takeouts have increased with last year totaling about 125. “Doris is a our best salesperson,” Pastor Zielke said.
Puerner said the dinner is a good outreach event. “Some people might be shy about coming to a new church," she said, adding that the dinner is a casual way to meet church members. Information on the church is available on fliers.
Proceeds from the dinner benefit benevolence projects and property maintenance. The cost is reasonable; $7.50 for an adult. “It’s economical,” Pastor Zielke said.
The pastor said the event, though, is more than a meal. “It’s an opportunity for people to come together and share a meal,” she said.
She said she liked the idea of people coming together since the time before an election can be so dividing. In her November message in the church newsletter, the pastor noted that ads are often negative about opponents and don’t usually address what voters need to know.
“A meal is symbolic in the faith to bring people together,” she said. “People don’t have to agree on issues, but they can have real conversations about things.”
The pastor said negative advertising is “so dividing.” “We as people of faith promote relationships and learn from one another,” she said.