From Thank You Notes - Stories of United Methodist Giving in Iowa - December 30, 2013
The Sibley United Methodist Church has created a bridge to their community with their Open Kitchen. On the second Saturday of each month a free noon meal is provided at the church. The meal is made from scratch and includes a main dish, vegetables, and dessert.
The congregation goes out of its way to make their guests feel at home. Many participants are elderly and living alone with limited income. The meal provides an opportunity for them to be together, which perhaps is even more important that the nutritious food that is served. Kris Roelfs writes that it gives people “a place to belong.”
The Open Kitchen currently serves about a dozen people each month. The church hopes to expand the reach of the free meal to more people. To that end they are focusing more on advertising. They also aim to increase the number of persons from the church who help with preparing, serving, and cleaning up after each meal.
Funds for this project were provided by a Matthew 25 grant from the Northwest District. This is one of many shared ministries made possible through apportionment gifts from local churches across the Iowa Annual Conference.