Saturday Suppers: Since 1966, gatherings at downtown churches have offered good food and fellowship to guests and hosts alike

Credit: Journal Photo by Lauren Carroll

Seniors say their goodbyes as they prepare to leave another get-together, this one held Oct. 4 at Centenary United Methodist Church on Fifth Street.

By: Kim Underwood | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: October 20, 2008

Ask the guests why they come to the get-togethers for seniors at downtown churches and chances are good that the word "fellowship" will come up.

One Saturday a month -- except during the summer -- volunteers from downtown churches pick up seniors who live in such places as Crystal Towers, Healey Towers and Azalea Terrace and bring them to the host church for a good meal, lots of singing, a little praying, some entertainment and plenty of visiting.

That has made the gatherings, which date to 1966, a fixture on the calendars of such people as Carrie Parker and Donna Ashby.

"I like the fellowship," Parker said.

"I get to fellowship with others," Ashby said.

At the October get-together earlier this month, Parker and Ashby were sharing a table with friends in a meeting room at Centenary United Methodist Church.

"I have been made to feel welcome everywhere I have been," Annie Ford said.

And the food -- delicious.

"I might add that it is served with love," Ford said.

"Much love," chimed in several others at the table.

"It's something that I think most of them really look forward to," said Linda Lewis, the director of the Faith in Action Care Program of the Shepherd's Center, which coordinates the program.

The fellowship nights started out as a ministry of The Downtown Church Center, which became the Winston-Salem Churches Ministry.

In 2003, the Shepherd's Center, a nonprofit organization that provides programs for seniors, began coordinating the program, which has nine core church sponsors and several more that help by picking up guests and such.

Church members tell Lewis that they get a lot out of the program, too.

"I think it means as much to the congregations that host as it does for the participants," she said.

Douglas and Doris Jackson pick up residents at Assembly Terrace Apartments each month and stick around for the program. "I guess the prayers would be my favorite part," Douglas Jackson said.

The meals are free. Some guests like to leave a contribution in small baskets left on the tables for that purpose.

At Centenary, so many people showed up -- about 70 -- that the volunteers had to scurry around and find extra tables to set up, which made it a tight squeeze here and there. The guests didn't have to worry about making their way to the buffet, though. Volunteers filled up the plates and brought them to each table.

Jack Yarbrough, who works with seniors at Centenary, served as an informal master of ceremonies for the evening. Yarbrough also suggested the entree for the night -- pork.

"Jack always wants pork," said Suzan Smith, the kitchen manager at Centenary.

The oldest regular guest is Margaret Speas, 96. She has been coming since shortly after the program started. For the first few years, she said, she was pretty much the only black person who came. These days the program is well-integrated.

It's a great program, Speas said. "I just love it," she said. "I love the people. They treat me so nice."

■ Kim Underwood can be reached at 727-7389 or at kunderwood@wsjournal.com.