By Grady McClendon
The Food and Hospitality ministries at FUMCWP are so much more than just feeding people. Their services also offer volunteer opportunities for a wide range of church family members’spiritual gifts and even generations!
They supply our church with a broad array of delicious meals, refreshments for receptions, and even the snacks for hundreds of Vacation Bible School children and volunteers. They also prepare and staff our Sunday Coffee Fellowship, our Welcome Tables and the “Our House Tours” given once a quarter.
Our Food and Hospitality Ministry recently hosted The National Christian Hospitality Conference for church hospitality directors and administrators, which offered an extraordinary look at the scope of services our church and its Ministries can contribute. For 200 visiting professionals, Randy and his corps of volunteers and church staff shared our amazing facilities, all anchored by our commitment to biblical hospitality.
One of the true gems of the Food and Hospitality Ministry is “Wednesday Night Live,” an evening of fun, faith and friendship featuring a sit-down dinner in our gym on Wednesday evenings during Fall, Winter, and Spring. About 100 people dine together weekly on multi-course meals, sharing fellowship with all ages, before adjourning to small groups and other activities.
Once again, these dinners require a team of dedicated volunteers, including the Kitchen Ministries team of cooks and servers! Our church’s setup team provides set-ups and tear-downs for transforming our gym into a cozy dining room!
Kitchen Ministries is also involved in an amazing community outreach that provides delicious “home-cooked” lunches several times a year for Winter Park’s Police and Fire departments. This is our way of thanking those professionals who “take care of us” on a regular basis! They were also involved this summer in providing healthy lunches to underprivileged Children enrolled in a summer Studio 150 dance camp funded by a grant from Florida Hospital.
As we bring our biblical hospitality more and more into our community, the more of your spiritual gifts are needed. If you would like to continue your path of discipleship by joining our team just contact Randy at randyp@fumcwp.org.