Food sale funds Girard church's free community activities

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

GIRARD

Though churches focus on the spiritual needs of members, there is a practical issue that all face: It takes money to keep the ministry going.

The First Presbyterian Church of Girard, a small congregation, had faced a funding shortfall for its mission projects.

“About seven years ago, that was an issue,” said the Rev. Deborah “Debby” Dockstader. The church pastor said mission projects are those activities that the church offers free to the community.

To help with finances and accomplish that mission, the pastor said the church started a food sale, which has become quite popular. It features homemade pepperoni rolls, chicken noodle soup, large and small loaves of bread and homemade sticky buns.

Chris Giron is the sale coordinator who supervises the making and baking process. Sales are the third Saturday of the month and advance orders are placed. “I like to cook. It’s my hobby,” he said.

Pastor Dockstader said, “All the recipes are in his head.”

“I like to watch the Food Network and get ideas from there. The secret ingredient is always a bit of love,” Giron said. But, he said, he keeps the recipes low sodium – noting with soup, one can always add salt.

The first few sales were successes, which was “encouraging,” Giron said. That buoyed the cooking crew into continuing the project. He said an assembly-line method makes the preparation go quickly.

On a recent Friday night, Melissa Giron, Chris’ wife; Donna Nagy, a 16-year church member; and Gayle Mills, a community volunteer and Melissa Giron’s mother, formed the crew working in the church kitchen. Chris Giron and the group prepares pepperoni rolls and bread on Friday, which is an all-day process, and Saturday morning is for making soup.

“Soup and bread are staples,” he said. The aroma of baking bread and pepperoni rolls still hangs in the air as customers pick up their orders. The comforting smell of soup wafts from the kitchen, where it’s packaged into quarts and pints.

“Chicken noodle soup is always in the sale,” Chris Giron said. Other varieties he prepares include vegetable beef, stuffed pepper, potato and chili.

“One time, a customer bought 12 quarts of vegetable beef,” he said. “He told me that it was the best soup he ever had.”

A new offering is the sticky buns, which are being made by Judy Hoffee.

Mills said she “likes to cook” and enjoys helping the cause. “We use the assembly line method and it moves fast,” she said.

Melissa Giron added, “I enjoy doing this. We have a good time.”

The crew makes enough food to fill the orders and then some. “We want to have some leftovers so it can be donated to Emmanual Community Center,” Pastor Dockstader said.

With the funds from the food sale, the church sponsors multiple free activities. “We’re a small church but don’t know it,” Pastor Dockstader said, adding the 45-member congregation reflects its motto, “A small church with a big heart.”

“We believe the community should be a better place because we’re in it,” the pastor said, referring to its activity schedule.

An upcoming event will be trunk or treat set from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 24 in the church parking lot. Members will offer candy from the trunks of their cars as children parade in their costumes. The event will include food, games, crafts and face painting.

The church also hosts a lawn concert in June featuring Rudy and the Professionals. “We like to have it on the front lawn so people going by see an activity,” the pastor said. In July, there’s an outdoor worship service and church cookout.

In the second week of August before school starts, the church sponsors a children’s carnival, at which free backpacks filled with school supplies are distributed. The pastor said the church gives out about 80 to 90.

During September the church sponsors a Cars for the Community car show that’s free to spectators, with a registration fee for entrants. “I get to pick the pastor’s choice,” Pastor Dockstader said.

The church also has offered Sunday night potluck suppers and discussion on current events from a Christian perspective and a program on aging and end-of-life issues.

Through the activities, the church strives to fulfill its mission – “To help bridge the gap between God and God’s people and walk with them on their spiritual journey. To make our community a better place by sharing God’s love in word and deed.”