EDITORIAL: Revived Women's Luncheon seeks help for 2025

Apr. 13—Women in the McAlester area were obviously pleased with the return of the Women's Holy Week Salad Luncheon.

They gathered at the Masonic Scottish Rite Center to hold the Maundy Thursday event — the first time it had been held since 2019 after its cancelation in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Holy Week Salad Luncheon's revival came about due to the hard work and dedication of a group of local women who decided it was time for the event's return. They took charge and revived it themselves.

Here are two thumbs-up to the women who made it happen.

Not only did they revive the Women's Holy Week Salad Luncheon after its years-long hiatus, they also inspired men at local churches to revive the series of Men's Holy Week Breakfasts.

A series of six breakfasts held at six local churches during the week leading up to Easter Sunday, the men's breakfasts had also ended with their cancelation in 2020, again due to the COVID-!9 pandemic.

When given the opportunity, both local women and men supported the revived events with impressive turnouts.

Nearly 200 women attended the 52nd Women's Holy Week Salad Luncheon at the Scottish Rite Center.

Event organizers called it an opportunity for area women to gather in fellowship and worship, while hearing a presentation from a featured speaker, listening to music and enjoying a smorgasbord of salad-related dishes.

Here's how it works: Women attending who did not work outside the home are asked to bring a salad-related dish.

Women working outside the home are not asked to do so, since most of them attend on their lunch break.

When the women gathered for the event, two long tables were filled with bowls of salads in a myriad of forms. They went far beyond lettuce and tomatoes, with cheeses, vegetables, fruits, macaroni salads, corn dishes, potato salads and many more adorning the tables.

Women from the following churches came together to bring back this year's Holy Week Salad Luncheon:

—First Presbyterian Church, host church.

—First United Methodist Church, prayers and publicity.

—Lakewood Christian Church, music.

—All Saints Episcopal Church, decorations.

Now, organizers of the 52nd Women's Holy week Salad Luncheon are already looking ahead to 2025.

Mistress of Ceremonies Jeanie Lee Dancer from the First Presbyterian Church welcomed the group at this year's luncheon and requested some assistance for next year.

She asked for women from two more churches to volunteer to help with planning and presenting the 2025 Women's Holy Week Salad Luncheon.

Surely women from at least two churches — and maybe more — will respond to Dancer's request.

By doing so, they can help the Women's Holy Week Salad Luncheon continue as one of McAlester's longest-running traditions.