Cross-Wind United Methodist hosts school construction workers for lunch

Sep. 29—When construction of the new Logansport intermediate school began next to Cross-Wind United Methodist Church, the congregation wanted to be neighborly.

Trustee Chair and Choir Director Steve Gwin suggested hosting a home-cooked lunch for the construction crews once each month. The idea was well received, and for the past 14 months congregation members have planned, organized, cooked and served the crews hard at work on the new school.

"Since the school is being built right next to us, we wanted to begin the process of reaching out to them and letting them know we're here and very supportive of what they're doing," Pastor Tim Powers said. "We're trying to make the community better, and we thought a good way to start that out would be to offer lunch to the workers once a month."

The meals are no ordinary sack lunch, either. Congregation members gather together once a month to plan a theme for each meal. While some people donate money for food, others donate ingredients and time.

Previous themes have included a turkey and noodle lunch around Christmas, a ham for Thanksgiving, pulled pork sandwiches in July, and tenderloins around Memorial Day. The tables are decorated for each occasion and the meals are served on the church's fine china.

"They can come over and not just get a little box of food to go," Powers said. "We've got tablecloths and actual dishes and things like that. We want nothing from them. We're not asking for anything in return other than for them to come be our guests once a month."

Another important aspect of the meals is finding ways to include and support local businesses.

"We try to use local vendors to help the community," Gwin said. "We used the barbecue place downtown, Shivelys BBQ. We bought it all, and we just try to invest in the community too."

Wednesday's fall-themed lunch consisted of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli. Large round slices of Swiss roll cake were handed out for dessert.

"They're all good," Michael Swingendorf said about the meals. "I don't know that we've had a bad one."

Swingendorf and his friend Todd Treder especially enjoyed the noodles and turkey served last December. They said they appreciate the congregation's show of friendship and look forward to enjoying the home cooked meals.

"It's kind of nice to be treated as more than just a construction worker really," Treder said. "We're invited here; they're basically bringing us into their home and feeding us. It's been really enjoyable."

Congregation member Chris Harmon said she has enjoyed decorating the kitchen and serving meals to the construction crews. She said the men and woman are always grateful.

"They thank us," Harmon said. "In fact, at one point they tried to pay us. But we don't want any money for it. We're just doing this. They always thank us when they leave."

After the workers finish up their meals, they are offered a treat bag to take with them. This month's treat bag was filled with Chex Mix to fit the fall theme.

Congregation member Deb Rhodes said the church is full of people dedicated to serving others. She does a bit of everything, including planning the meals, cooking food, preparing treat bags and serving the workers.

One of Rhode's favorite meals was themed "Indy 500." She and the other volunteers used jello molds to form little cars.

"It's just been fun for us to come up with the ideas to be as hospitable as we can to all these gentlemen and one lady," she said.

Rhodes added that the lunches give the workers a chance to get away from the construction site, sit down and catch up with friends and other coworkers.

"For them to come together, sit down and relax for a while, it's just great to see," she said. "I hope these guys will remember this because I don't know that it's something they've gotten elsewhere at other job sites."

As the school nears completion, the church is preparing to minister to its new neighbor. The lunches may come to an end, but the generosity of the congregation has been noticed and appreciated by the new school's staff.

Michael Miller, the intermediate school's future principal, said it is encouraging to know there is community support for the new school.

"This project is a big opportunity for us," he said. "Being able to have community partners like this to help support that is such an important piece. We're very appreciative of that and the people we have around this project."