HANCOCK COUNTY — “Let us break bread together on our knees,” urge the lyrics of the spiritual song from nearly 100 years ago. But in recent years, there haven’t been the same opportunities to break that bread.
Nearly every Hancock County church closed to in-person services in March 2020. Their reopenings were staggered, with some opening as early as May 2020 and others not reconvening until early 2021.
When a congregation did come back together, Communion elements were typically a sealed, prepackaged unit.
Aside from that sacrament, any food or drink — from a coffee station after Sunday School to a Saturday evening chicken noodle dinner — was often absent. A list of “Considerations for Communities of Faith” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged houses of worship to avoid buffet or family-style dining and lean toward prepackaged items.
Just as churches opened on different timetables, there’s variation on when and how they’ve gradually brought food back into congregational life. But for many of those who have, the mechanics of doing so have changed.
“Food is a huge part of the life of the church,” Daron Day, an associate pastor at New Palestine Bible Church, wrote in an email to the Daily Reporter. “Jesus is almost always at a meal, it seems, in the Gospels. He recognized the opportunity a meal brings and enjoyed loving others around the table. …
“In general the pandemic brought at first a halt to larger food gatherings and now is seen in precautions like individual prepackaged communion cups ready at the seats, sanitizer at the coffee and snack table, and a greater awareness of one’s health before a attending a gathering.”
The Daily Reporter asked various congregations what food and drink at church look like in 2021. Here are excerpts from their answers:
“Greenfield Christian offers a coffee-and-baked-goods fellowship at 9 a.m. Sundays before 10 a.m. worship. We have had a few indoor catered or pitch-in events with designated servers, along with an outdoor cookout in our parking lot and a drive-thru youth breakfast. We have always loved to share fellowship through food. COVID has given a few challenges, but has not deterred us.”
— Sharon Feister, member of Greenfield Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
“We’re still not having refreshments between Sunday morning worship services, which is our norm. We are, however, going to have our annual Oktoberfest party, but will do it outside to stay as safe as possible. We give options for communion, so that those who don’t want to come forward to receive the elements directly from others can pick up an individual, pre-packaged communion kit instead.”
— Mark Havel, lead pastor of Cross of Grace Lutheran Church in New Palestine
“ … We are having fellowship hour on Sunday mornings before church starts. We’ve also have had a couple of pitch-in luncheons after Sunday services…”
— Ginette Einspahr, member of Amity United Methodist Church
“We now have a cafeteria-style service (for coffee, doughnuts and juice after 9 a.m. worship), with choices of food and drink being passed through the service window by two gloved hosts, thus eliminating the possibility of cross-contamination. We also decided to hold our annual pork chop dinner this year, but as drive-thru only. … We just had our annual Hog Roast … We didn’t have the Hog Roast last year, and, like the May dinner, this year was only drive-thru…”
—Kerry O’Brien, minister of Mohawk United Methodist Church
“We have not had any large food events. We did have a brunch between services for Easter … we had servers as opposed to self-serve in a food line. Hand sanitizer was available at the beginning of the line, and I noted that most people used it before they started down the line.
“We have tried to individually package things … butter and dips portioned out in cups ahead of time, no open veggie or cookie tray. Everything was prewrapped wrapped in zip-lock baggies … desserts cut up and put on a plate ahead of time. We have wrapped silverware so that not everyone is touching it, and one person wearing gloves handed out silverware and plates, same with drinks … Most of the food served is only for small family groups after a funeral.”
—Carla Carter, member of Calvary Baptist Church in Greenfield
“We are back to normal pretty much. We host new member luncheons, and people are serving themselves as of now along with funeral dinners. We have reopened our coffee bar on Sunday mornings as well. Celebrate Recovery has been having their coffee bar on Thursday evenings, and their dessert team bakes fresh goodies for that too.”
—Cheyanne Petry, office manager at Brandywine Community Church
“We just recently relaunched our hospitality ministry on Sunday mornings … We went to Keurig coffee stations, some prepackaged items, mini refrigerators with water and soda, and of course Sweet Shop donuts. We’ve made a conscious effort to take as many hands out of the process as possible and to give people multiple options depending on their comfort level. … Of course we have plenty of hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes and gloves. I’d say the biggest thing we have had to adjust in this COVID era … (is) a layer of conversation that wasn’t, although maybe it should’ve been, a part of the process before COVID. Not only are we trying to keep people as safe as possible, but we want people to feel comfortable and welcomed too.”
—Ethan Maple, pastor of Mt. Comfort Church
