Morgantown/Honey Brook MARCH 12, 2025
Day
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXIII • NO 6
Church dishes up community dinners
Donations sought for Berks Book Bonanza
BY FRANCINE FULTON
BY FRANCINE FULTON
Volunteers at February’s community dinner included (from left) Mary Milns, Joyce Wade and Paul Baringer.
and cabbage will be one of the options,” Baringer noted. “For the Easter (community dinner, we will serve) ham and lamb.” Due to the drought and in order to preserve water, he noted, food is temporarily being served on paper plates since the dishes had to be washed both before and after the meal. Baringer spends the day of the dinner cooking and preparing the menu, which varies each month. “I am usually here between 12 and 1 p.m.,” he noted. “For Easter with the lamb, and for (the) Thanksgiving (dinner), I am here earlier in the day.” He noted that during the pandemic, the church did stop serving meals, but it did offer dinners-to-go on select days. “It
used to be buffet style, but since COVID, we now serve the meal,” Baringer explained. “ You sit down, and someone will come to your table and take your order for you.” About 30 people of all ages attend the meal each month. This includes senior citizens, as well as young families with children. “There are usually some new (attendees) every time,” Baringer stated. On hand for February’s meal was St. Peter UCC pastor Peter Detterline, who is also an amateur astronomer. Detterline brought a high-powered telescope to the church so that after dinner attendees could view the planet Venus in the night sky. In addition to the community
Spring
meal, the church offers an indoor/outdoor flea market on the second Saturday of every month from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Setup begins at 6 a.m. A fee is charged per space; no reservations are needed. Breakfast and lunch items are also available for purchase at the flea market. The next community dinner will be held on Friday, March 28, and the next flea market is scheduled for Saturday, April 12. The Sunday service is held at 10:30 a.m. For more information about the church, call the church office at 610-469-9690 or visit www.stpeterucc.org or www.face book.com/stpeterunitedchurch. For GPS users, the church’s address is 1920 Ridge Road, Pottstown.
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ood food and fellowship are offered each month during community dinners served at St. Peter United Church of Christ (UCC), located on Route 23 in Knauertown. Community dinners are typically held on the last Friday of each month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The meal is free, but a collection jar is available so that people can donate a freewill offering. Community dinners began at St. Peter UCC in October of 2013. The idea was to offer a free meal to those with financial difficulties. Today, the dinners have evolved to serve people of all ages and backgrounds. “If you can’t afford a meal, come and get one, but that is not its intention (anymore),” stated church member Paul Baringer, who cooks the meal on-site. “It’s meant to be a social event. You can sit down and have dinner and meet some new people.” While he is not a professional chef, Baringer said he loves to eat and try new foods, as well as prepare food for others. “Our pastor at the time came up with the concept of doing a community dinner,” explained Baringer. “I have been the chef the whole time.” Church volunteers help prepare, serve and clean up after the meal. For the dinner on Feb. 28, the menu included London broil, chicken wings, shrimp cocktail, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. There were also assorted homemade desserts including chocolate pudding, rice pudding and brownies, as well as beverages, including coffee, hot tea and lemonade. “(In March), cor ned bee f
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MARCH 14th - MARCH 24th
Readers who have extra books to share are invited to donate them to the Berks Book Bonanza, an annual sale of gently used books that benefits local charities. DVDs, CDs, games and vinyl records are also accepted. Organizers of the annual event recently announced that donation collection hours will go beyond the previously announced March 11 deadline. N o w t h r o u g h M o n d a y, March 31, volunteers will be on hand to accept donations on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Berks County South Campus facility, located at 400 E. Wyomissing Ave., Mohnton. Expanded hours will begin in April with the following donation collection schedule: Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon; Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m.; and Saturdays, April 12, May 10 and June 14, from 9 a.m. to noon. The final donation acceptance date for the 2025 sale will be June 14. Donations will not be accepted on Monday holidays. During collection days, volunteers are stationed at the rear entrance of Berks County South Campus. As part of a drive-through format, those who have items to donate will be greeted by volunteers who will take the items from their car, box them, load them onto carts and bring them indoors for sorting. Items that are not accepted are books that are moldy or See Books pg 2
MARCH 14th - MARCH 24th
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