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The community is invited to join in the celebration of the sixth birthday of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Stone Soup Free CommUUnity Meal on Friday, September 30.
Volunteers will serve a homemade meal of Southern style cornbread and pinto beans with, of course, birthday cake for dessert! Dine in or take out will be available from 5 to 6 p.m. ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.
“While many of our guests are our food insecure neighbors, we want to start our seventh year making sure that we emphasize that the community meal is open to anyone who would like to come,” said program coordinator Jinx Watson. “There are a lot of connections that are made, not only among the guests, but also among the guests and the team. We enjoy dining with them and love the opportunity to celebrate someone’s birthday, hear news about their families, and build friendships. For some, attending is as much about the welcoming atmosphere as it is about the meal. We miss folks if they don’t come and are concerned about how they are doing.â€
The Stone Soup Ministry name is derived from the Stone Soup Fable, a medieval tale in which a hungry stranger came upon a small village. Having no food, he put water and a few stones in a large pot to boil. The villagers, who were suffering from a meager harvest, each contributed a bit of food, a carrot, a potato, etc. In the end, the stranger and the villagers sat down to the meal together. In modern times, the story is usually told as a lesson in cooperation.
The ministry is supported by donations of food and financial support from individuals in the ORUUC Congregation and the wider Oak Ridge community, the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge, and community partners Kroger for donations of fresh fruit and Hank’s Market for non-perishable foods.
For more information about the September 30 meal, please call the ORUUC office at (865) 483-6761.
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